Petition · past parliament
Amend Child Abduction Act to criminalise failure to return a child to UK.
Closed
111 signatures
What the petition asks
A court's permission for a parent to take a child out of the UK facilitates child abduction. Case law states that failure to return a child to the UK is not a crime. This is not in the true spirit of the Child Abduction Act. Failure to return a child should be treated the same as taking them away.
Case law clearly states that a criminal offence has not taken place were a child is taken out of the UK with the Courts permission and not returned. This is clearly a loophole, which is having a devastating impact on parents in the UK who suffer parental child abduction. The loophole in the child abduction act needs closing.
Timeline
| 14 Oct 2019 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 6 Nov 2019 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
111
Status
Closed
Opened
14 Oct 2019
Closed
6 Nov 2019
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.