Politicians: We must stop good law being used for bad purpose
Leigha Collins’ MSP last night spoke of his delight at her return home and vowed to campaign to avoid the same thing happening to other young mothers.
Alex Rowley wrote repeatedly to the UK government and officials in Malta seeking help for Leigha. He said: “When The Sunday Post first told me what Leigha was facing, I could hardly believe the system which was supposed to help families fleeing trauma was actually being used against them.
“But what happened to Leigha proved the current system is deeply flawed and must change before anyone else from Scotland is forced to endure what this young mum and her family have gone through.
“It’s unbelievable that in this day and age the family court system appears to be answerable to nobody.”
Last April, Leigha was ordered to return to Malta with Hayes after a 20-minute virtual hearing.
Her ex Kyle Borg had taken her to court using the Hague Convention on international child abductions.
Family Court judge Lord Brailsford dismissed Leigha’s concerns about
Borg’s violent behaviour after he was wrongly told an assault charge against Borg had still to be proven. Her claims of his drug abuse were similarly dismissed.
In October,
The Sunday Post revealed that six months before Lord Brailsford’s ruling, Borg had already pleaded guilty to a vicious attack on a pizza delivery man, and his probation officer had grave concerns about his drug use. Borg was sentenced to pay his victim almost £2,000 and was ordered to undergo a threeyear rehabilitation programme.
MP Lisa Cameron intends raising the whole issue of the use of the Hague Convention to continue abusing domestic abuse victims at Westminster.
She said: “This law is being used to continue exerting control in abusive relationships. We need to revisit the whole process of how this good law can be used for bad purposes.”
Dr Marsha Scott of Scottish Women’s Aid said: “Leigha and her family have been put through hell, and we are thrilled to hear she can finally return to Scotland, to her older child, and to the rest of her family.”