Stories abound of people denied adoption for bizarre and exotic reasons, for being too fat, too old or because they did not like pop music. Whether any court would find in favour of a couple who had been refused adoption, and then abducted the children, remains to be seen.But once the Bramleys case is resolved, there will be intense soul searching within the social work profession. Instead of taking the children to their social worker on 14 September, they bundled the girls into the back of their car and vanished.With the dramatic return of the Bramleys last night the decision on the future of Jade and Hannah has now been handed to the courts and, given the intense interest in the case, the judge will have difficulty reaching a decision that all parties can live with. It is hard to establish the precise reasons the Bramleys were considered unsuitable carers for Jade and Hannah, but in their letter to the press last week, the couple claimed they were regarded as having been too strict and obsessive.It has also been suggested by some that Cambridgeshire social services were being over-cautious because of a series of recent scandals involving children in their care.Though the Bramleys agreed at first to return the children, to the council, privately they started to plan their dramatic escape. Child-care experts say teething problems are expected in adoption cases and the Bramleys must have been considered totally unfit to keep the children.The Bramleys were heartbroken and took their case to the county court but the judge backed the department. However, by last August social workers decided that the relationship was not working and said the Bramleys could not adopt the girls. In March last year it was agreed that Jade and Hannah would be placed with them, subject to continuing monitoring, with a view to the Bramleys eventually adopting them.Experts say the age of the children, five and three, is perfect for bonding with new parents and the Bramleys clearly formed a close attachment with the little girls.

Like all prospective carers, they underwent a thorough assessment of their suitability, background and financial position Several months later they were approved as carers. By that time the Bramleys had already embarked on the lengthy process of assessment to become carers.After eight years of trying unsuccessfully for children of their own, they had decided they wanted to adopt. Up until that point, the department had been portrayed as the villains in the Bramley saga.Jade and Hannah, who have different fathers, arrived at social services in 1997 after their mother, Jackie Bennett, 24, who suffered from depression decided she could no longer cope as a single mother.They were immediately taken on by short-term foster parents, as are the vast majority of the county’s children in care. We feel the best way of doing this is to ask the courts to determine what is best for the children,” she said.
The bold move finally broke the four-month deadlock between the fugitive couple and Cambridgeshire social services. “The Bramleys asked for the girls’ future to be determined by someone independent of the county council.

In her personal appeal, published in newspapers last Friday, Ms Railton conceded to the Bramleys that their case should be heard in court. THE DECISIVE moment in convincing the Bramleys finally to come out of hiding was the open letter to them written by Liz Railton, director of Cambridgeshire social services, which offered the couple the hope of keeping their foster children, writes Julian Kossoff. The compelling, irresistible tale of how they strove to keep the girls they loved as their own children will not have failed to attract the attentions of film makers, either.. In the last few weeks, the couple have been compared to other famous fugitives from Bonnie and Clyde to the fictional Thelma and Louise. We will need to talk to the family before a decision can be made.”In her open letter urging them to surrender, Ms Railton proposed that the courts should also decide what would happen to Jade and Hannah in the medium term while the adoption application was progressing through the legal system.Cambridgeshire Police has been preparing for an early hearing to decide the girls’ immediate future.The intense media interest in the case is likely to continue, with pressure on the Bramleys to tell their story. “This means every time any decision is made their views must be considered.”Immediate criminal charges against the couple are unlikely, but cannot be ruled out in the future, Cambridgeshire Police said before the safe return of the children.

“We just cannot speculate on what the situation will be until we meet up with them and have a chance to question them,” a spokeswoman said “This has been an almost 18-week-long inquiry. “Mr and Mrs Bramley have been made parties to these proceedings,” she said. But last night Ms Railton said her department will still attempt to block the adoption. The Official Solicitor will represent the Bennett sisters.An open letter from Liz Railton, director of Cambridgeshire social services , conceding that the Bramleys’ case for adoption would be reconsidered, is believed to have persuaded them to come home. Last night, after 24 hours of intense negotiations had brought the Bramleys and the two girls home, it became apparent that a complex legal procedure awaited the middle-aged couple, who had been on the run since September, when they were told they could not adopt Jade, five, and Hannah, three.
The future of the two girls, both in the next few days and in the longer term, can only be settled with the agreement of Mrs Justice Hogg, who made them wards of court on Friday after an application from Cambridgeshire social services.It will take several months for the adoption procedure to be resolved in the event that the Bramleys do, as expected, renew their bid to become parents.