Blog

With some trepidation, I file my first blog posting on the new site … and apologies to all those who received a ‘test blog’ during the week 🙂

The Lizzie Gladwell Crisis Campaign Website

The big news this week is the release of the website for The Lizzie Gladwell Crisis Campaign (www.lizziegladwell.org.uk). The campaign focuses on highlighting the safeguarding gap for vulnerable young people transitioning into legal adulthood before they are functionally ready. This gap exists between their cognitive age and chronological age.

The campaign focuses on challenging the dangerous indifference of agencies that dismiss concerns with, “Well, they’re eighteen”. These agencies ignore the warning cries of anguished parents and families, disregard statutory guidance for convenience, and readily accept the lies of predatory perpetrators who seek to isolate, manipulate and exploit vulnerable young people. We know that the case of our own precious Lizzie is far from unique, even in North East Lincolnshire. However, the issue extends beyond this locality; it is a national crisis.

If you know families with young people who have diagnosed needs affecting cognitive or executive function, please inform them about The Lizzie Gladwell Crisis campaign so they can consider strategies to protect their loved ones.

They may think that ‘safeguarding of vulnerable adults’ means something real. You may think that. We thought so too. That was our grave mistake.

Podcast Series 2

Series 1 of the audio podcast covered the first year since Lizzie’s removal, from July 2023 to July 2024. Now that we are in August 2025, I can confirm that Series 2 will begin shortly, spanning July 2024 to July 2025. During this entire year, we have not seen Lizzie at all, not once. Nor have her grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins or godparents. However, we have uncovered a wealth of truth about the nature of her removal and the actions of the statutory agencies in response to it.

Who has caused this emotional carnage? Coral, pure and simple. It was Coral’s plot, Coral’s plan, Coral’s execution.

Nonetheless, Series 2 of the podcast will reveal how the actions and inactions of the agencies turned a plot into a full-blown crisis. It could have been resolved in days. It should have been. Even now, ordinary people, normal people, parents, are astonished when I say how Coral waited outside our house to drive off with Lizzie, with no possessions, with no opportunity (in Coral’s plan) for Lizzie to say goodbye to her mum and dad; Lizzie, with the functional age of a child. It should have been resolved in days.

The fact that, two years later, this crisis is still ongoing, resulting in a podcast, a blog, a campaign page, and so much trauma, is entirely due to the apathy and indifference of the agencies.

Wise people caution me to be patient and not to push too hard. I understand their meaning and concern, I truly do. Nonetheless, I ask any parent: what would you do in our situation? You need no reminder: I am Lizzie’s dad.

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Thank you for reading. If you have any insights, comments or advice, please feel free to add them below.