A mother who was separated from her children for nearly six years after flawed psychological evidence led to their removal has been reunited with her son. The High Court overturned the original order, which was based on an assessment by unregulated psychologist Melanie Gill.
In December 2019, a district judge followed Gill's recommendations, which included banning the mother, referred to as Erin, from seeing her children due to alleged parental alienation. The court also ignored cross-allegations of domestic abuse, leaving claims of serious physical and sexual assault by the father unexamined. The children, aged nine and 12 at the time, were placed in the father's sole custody.
Erin did not see or speak to her children until last year. In January 2025, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, set aside the original findings. The case took a dramatic turn when Erin's teenage son, Dylan, ran away from his father's home and hired his own solicitor. After a period in foster care, he was reunited with his mother for Christmas.
Dylan, now 15, attended court with his own legal team. His barrister, Jo Delahunty KC, described how he had lost trust in professionals and felt isolated. McFarlane ordered that Dylan live with his mother, noting that the case was about the court properly engaging with allegations. He criticised Gill for viewing the challenge as a vendetta.
This is the second time in six months that findings involving Gill have been overturned. The government is consulting on banning unregulated experts in family courts after receiving 60 submissions in a public consultation. Erin's legal team cited new guidance from December 2024, which advises against using experts to assess parental alienation and requires psychologists to be regulated.
Dylan said he felt heard at last, adding: “I’m so grateful to be home with my mum finally and to feel happy again.” The father, who denies all allegations, did not attend the hearing. The daughter, now 18, was not party to the case.
