But the government called the July election – and the law didn’t change.
In the most recent King’s Speech, in 2024, the Labour government promised to enact the change, saying it would restrict parental responsibility for child sex offenders.
However, when the wording of the new law was published on 7 May it said that removing parental responsibility would only apply “for a serious sexual offence committed against a child for whom the offender has parental responsibility”.
In other words, where someone had abused their own child or stepchild.
This would not cover Bethan’s family.
Bethan’s parents said the government should go back to the bill that Harriet Harman had proposed, where the emphasis was on “protecting innocent children” rather than “thinking about the rights of the paedophile”.
The draft legislation – which will have its second reading in Parliament today – also says the restriction of parental responsibility should apply only where someone has been sentenced to at least four years in prison.
The grandparents of Bethan’s child believe it should apply more widely.
“Really what we’re talking about here is where the line is drawn. And we obviously think that line should be drawn much lower down,” the child’s grandfather said.
The grandmother said the court case had been a “terrible stress” for her daughter.
“What people don’t realise is when you take on a family court case, it’s like taking on a full time job because it takes hundreds of hours to get the information together,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Bethan had to take her child out of childcare, give up her flat, and “use every bit of savings” she had to pay for the family court, the child’s grandmother added.
Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones said in response: “We are protecting children and ensuring victims are properly supported.
“These changes will, for the first time, introduce an automatic suspension of parental responsibility for offenders who sexually abuse their own child and receive a prison sentence of four years or more – removing the need for victims to go through court to secure this.
“I do recognise the concerns raised by victims and campaigners and will continue working closely with them to ensure the law is as strong and protective as it needs to be.”
