Campaigners urge removal of parental responsibility from abusers
Campaigners are calling for a legal change to remove parental responsibility from parents who abuse their children, arguing that the current system fails to protect victims.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Campaigners are calling for a change in the law that would automatically strip parental responsibility from parents who seriously harm or kill their own children. The proposed change, known as Charlie's Law, is named after Charlie Gibbs, a baby boy who died in 2008 at the age of three months.
Charlie's mother, Joe Early, gave birth to twins, Charlie and Abby, in 2008. Charlie died after his father, Gavin Gibbs, a paramedic, was found to have broken his arm. Gibbs was later convicted of grievous bodily harm and jailed. Despite his conviction, he was still legally allowed to maintain contact with Abby, his surviving twin. He sent her cards and letters scented with his aftershave on birthdays and Christmases, which Abby says caused distress and re-opened trauma.
Abby, now 18 and able to speak publicly for the first time, described the impact of growing up without her twin and with the lingering presence of her father. She said she felt a part of her was missing and that it was heartbreaking to watch friends grow up with siblings.
The campaign for Charlie's Law argues that the current family court system defaults to maintaining a relationship between a child and both parents, even when there are serious allegations of abuse. Campaigners say child safety should come first. Parliament recently passed Jade's Law, which automatically removes parental responsibility from a parent who kills the other parent. But no such automatic rule applies when a parent harms or kills their own child. Charlie's Law would close that gap.
The Ministry of Justice responded by saying that judges already have the power to restrict parental responsibility where it is in the child's best interests. It added that the government is reviewing the law on parental responsibility in its entirety. For Abby, the campaign is personal. As she put it, "It should always have been Abby and Charlie," but now she is speaking for both of them.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 |
|---|---|
| Charlie Gibbs died at three months old after his father broke his arm, leading to a conviction for grievous bodily harm. | |
| Jade's Law, which automatically removes parental responsibility when one parent kills the other, does not cover cases where a parent harms their own child. | |
| The Ministry of Justice said judges already have powers to restrict parental responsibility and that the law is under review. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This channel focused on the emotional family story behind Charlie's Law, giving significant airtime to Abby and Joe's personal testimony. It highlighted the contrast between Jade's Law and the current gap for child abuse cases, and included the official Ministry of Justice response. The tone was sympathetic and humanising, with the presenter visibly moved by the story.
- “I just couldn't stop staring at and thinking I've made two perfect babies”
- “I don't remember any presents being sent to me just cards and Vouchers and things but if it was up to me I would have chosen not to”
- “What should happen is that child safety should come first”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.