Yorkshire couple who adopted daughter from Russia 11 years ago 'not officially recognised as parents'

University of York professor Dr Simon Skempton met his wife Anna while working in Russia and they adopted their daughter from an orphanage in Moscow in 2011.

Under Russian law, he is not seen as the adopted father because he is not a Russian citizen. But when the family moved to England in 2017, City of York Council was asked if the adoption could be formally recognised.

The council said adoptions made in Russia “are not automatically recognised in the UK” and Dr Skempton and his wife do not have parental responsibility for their daughter, who is now 11-years-old.

The couple have been locked in a dispute with the council for two years, as it claims they are in a "private fostering arrangement" and it needs to conduct an assessment to ensure the child is safe.

The council also said the couple can apply to adopt their daughter, after it conducts an adoption assessment.

However, when concerns about Ms Skempton’s relationship with her adopted daughter were raised with the Home Office, it replied: “We and local authorities have accepted it as genuine”.

It came after Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, intervened and warned the council “this is very distressing, and putting huge strain on the family”.

A council official wrote back and said Russian adoptions are not accepted in UK law so Dr Skempton and his wife “do not have parental responsibility”.

She added: “Given the length of time this matter has been ongoing and if we cannot make progress to move things forward, we will have no option but to consider taking enforcement action.”

'It’s completely unacceptable'

Dr Skempton said: “It’s a horrible feeling. I’ve had some sleepless nights, but for my wife - it’s really destroying her.

“They want my wife Anna to adopt our daughter under UK law.

“They want us to go through that one-year process again and, in the interim, conduct a private fostering assessment. We find that completely unacceptable and they haven’t provided any real evidence that this is the law - it’s completely unacceptable.

“They just expect us to do as we’re told but we’re refusing.”

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "As the law stands Russia is neither a Hague Convention country nor listed as a 'designated country', meaning that unfortunately - while the Home Office recognises the family for immigration law purposes - we cannot recognise anyone in these circumstances for the purposes of English adoption law.

"We recognise this is far from ideal for any family caught up in this complex area of law. Our main priority is to ensure that this family is supported and can maintain their family life with as little disruption as possible, and we are keen to work with them to ensure this happens."