A mother who has been falsely accused of poisoning her teenage daughter has issued a heartfelt plea to social workers to let her child return home.
The Mail Online reports: Mary Kidson, 55, was acquitted last month of attempting to poison the 16-year-old – an accusation which followed her attempt to find medical help abroad.
The case echoes that of young cancer patient Ashya King, whose parents were arrested after removing him from Southampton Hospital for treatment outside the UK.
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Although the charges were thrown out, Ms Kidson and her daughter – who cannot be named for legal reasons – have not seen each other since April and can only speak on monitored calls
A care order, imposed when Ms Kidson was detained last year, remains in place despite the trial judge at Worcester Crown Court saying the girl would be ‘psychologically harmed’ by the separation.
Now an e-petition on Change.org has collected 1,830 signatures and urges social services and the courts to return the girl to her mother. ‘All my child and I want is for her to come home,’ Ms Kidson said last night. ‘Social workers are ruining my daughter’s life. She was studying for four GCSE equivalent qualifications and a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, but that has all stopped because of what’s happened.
‘We speak on the phone but the calls are listened to. It’s unbearable. She was so happy with me, and to think of how she is living, without her mother, is just heartbreaking.’
The mother of two, from Ledbury, Herefordshire, added: ‘It’s supposed to be innocent until proven guilty but in my case it seems I’m guilty despite being proved innocent.
‘The care order was drawn up before anyone had heard any of the evidence. The grief I am feeling now at being denied access to my daughter is very hard to bear.’
Ms Kidson’s troubles began in 2012 when, after failing to find treatment in Britain, she took her daughter, then aged 14, to the Brussels clinic of Dr Thierry Hertoghe, a physician and expert in hormone therapy.
The girl had suffered from constant tiredness, low blood pressure, muscle and joint pain, and growth problems, which often left her bedridden. Ms Kidson believed she had chronic fatigue syndrome.
But in March last year, without having made contact with Ms Kidson, police and social workers arrived at their home, arrested her and took her daughter away. The medication the teenager had been prescribed was stopped by doctors and she was put into foster care.
In January, Ms Kidson was charged with poisoning her child and unlawfully causing grievous bodily harm. The initial complaint is believed to have been made by her ex-husband Michael, the girl’s father.
But it was when Ms Kidson responded to a text from her daughter in April – after becoming worried she may harm herself – that she was imprisoned for breach of bail.
Her daughter, traumatised by the events, according to Ms Kidson, was certified under the Mental Health Act. She remains in hospital.
Hereford Council said: ‘We can’t comment on individual cases. The council is in contact with both parents about the next steps.’
Niamh Harris
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