Four Muslim children who were taken into foster care after they had been radicalised by their mother have been returned to their father.

The High Court was told that the mother, who is in prison, had showed no moderation in her extremist beliefs.

The judge ruled that it was in the children’s best interest to return them to their father with whom they had a close and loving relationship.

They were much more likely to thrive and mature properly with their father than in a foster home. They required co-ordinated, regular and probably long-term assistance and guidance.

The de-radicalisation work should be heavily underscored by exposure to and participation in mainstream life, principally schooling and outside cultural and religious activity, and ordinary family life.

The local authority had a duty to make the plan work. Any argument that services could not be provided because of financial or other reasons would not be accepted; the risks here were too disproportionate.

All contact with the mother and her family would need to be professionally supervised until it was considered safe to do otherwise.

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Case Citations: [2017] EWHC 2851 (Fam), A LOCAL AUTHORITY v M & 5 ORS (2017), Fam Div (Newton J)