Ayr dad fighting to change law on parental abduction
Nathan Gilmour hasn’t seen his children in 4 years after they were taken to Cyprus
An Ayrshire father is campaigning to get rid of a Scottish legal loophole dubbed the ‘kidnapper’s charter’.
Nathan Gilmour, a teacher from Ayr, hasn’t seen his children since 2018. The 38-year-old’s partner took his now six-year-old daughter and four-year-old son out of the country in 2019 when the pair were going through a civil court case.
His wife is believed to be in the Turkish Republic of Cyprus with the two kids who have been reported missing since late 2021.
A court decided Mr Gilmour should have access to his children in 2018
The couple separated in 2017 and in April 2018 she attempted to refuse her husband access to the children.
However, after proceedings in Ayr Sheriff Court, Sheriff Scott Pattison declared Mr Gilmour could have access to his children.
Instead of his wife taking the children to the first meeting, she took them and fled to Poland where she supplied local police with false information.
Nathan said it has completely turned his life upside down and consumed him for the last four years, adding the mental stress has taken its toll on both him and his family and friends.
"Difficult to describe the impact"
He told Clyde News: “It’s difficult to describe the impact it has had on me, and also my mother, father and brother and those around us.
“It really has reduced me to rubble, but when this is your children, you are left with no option and no choice but to see the next day through and to fight for them.
“In some ways I have been unable to be a father in the way that many of my own friends are parents, but this is the only way I can be a dad to my kids. It’s to fight for their rights, which are not being upheld, and to do my very best each day to try an ensure a positive outcome for them.
“It’s been exceptionally difficult, but I’m determined to keep fighting for them as you have no other option as a parent.”
In England and Wales there are laws preventing a parent from taking a child abroad without the other parent of guardian’s consent, but in Scotland it is not deemed a criminal offence unless there are certain court orders in place.
As the children were not judged to be in harms way being with a parent, they were not reported missing until two years later despite Nathan campaigning tirelessly for this.
Fundraiser launched for judicial review
Mr Gilmour is not entitled to legal aid in his bid to have the Scottish legislation changed, which has now resorted in him crowdfunding to raise a judicial review to see the law reviewed.
He has so far raised £9,000 of the £100,000 needed for the judicial proceedings on a GoFundMe page.
He hopes that it could prevent further cases like his and ensure other families don’t have to go through the same ‘torment’ as his own.
With the children and wife believed to be in Turkish occupied Cyprus, the area does not fall under the 1980 Hague Convention on child abduction. If they were elsewhere, this law could assist in returning them home now that they have officially been reported as missing.
Mr Gilmour added: “Through a bit of investigation from myself and a legal team, we found evidence that she was in the Turkish Republic of Cyprus. There are very few places like this in the world but they do not co-operate with the Hague Convention.
“If I can help change the law here, it may help in persuading the authorities in Northern Cyprus that this is serious issue and has to be dealt with and that would hopefully involve them assisting in returning my children.”
Scottish Government considering changes to the law
A Scottish Government spokesperson told Clyde News: “We are aware of the case and have been working under the 1980 Hague Convention on child abduction to try and secure the children’s return. We will continue to do so should they be located in a country that is a signatory to the Convention.
“International child abduction is included in our Family Justice Modernisation Strategy and we will consider if any amendments are needed to the legislation in due course.”
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