Edinburgh council may be probed over gay adoption

Edinburgh City Council may face an inquiry over the decision to place two small children for adoption with a gay couple against their family’s wishes.

Social workers rejected the protests of the children’s grandparents, telling them to accept the decision or lose access to the four-year-old girl and five-year-old boy.

A Conservative councillor in Edinburgh has expressed concerns over the case and has called for an investigation.

Jeremy Balfour said: “I have written to the director of social work to clarify this situation.

“If the allegations made are correct, I have a couple of concerns. Firstly, how the grandparents have been treated. Secondly, there seems to be an issue of age discrimination.

“If this is the case, it seems to me there needs to be an investigation.”

Councillor Marilyne MacLaren, the Council’s convenor for education, children and families, said: “I have been assured that the professional view is that the adoptive couple will provide a safe, secure and loving environment for these children.”

But the children’s mother, who is a recovering heroin addict, has come out against the decision.

She said: “I did not under any circumstances want my children to be placed with gay men. I wanted them to have a mum and a dad.

“I have nothing against gay people. I’ve got gay friends, but children need a mum and a dad.”

Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: “This is a devastating decision which will have a serious impact on the welfare of the children involved.”

Writer Melanie Phillips said: “A child needs a mother and father because their roles in bringing that child up, and the way the child sees each of them, are not interchangeable.”

She added: “Quite obviously, the interests of these children have been subordinated to politically correct considerations.”