Taking a Strand
Time to tackle overreliance on hair strand drug tests in the family courts: An open letter to the Family Division and Family Justice Board
For some time now there has been significant reliance on the findings from hair strand testing in the family courts, in relation to drug and alcohol use. However, there is a compelling body of evidence that shows the processes used to interpret these results are vastly oversimplified and misleading. These results are often a critical factor in decisions about whether children remain with their birth families or are taken into local authority care.
In October 2024, Birth Companions, MSB Solicitors and barristers from 4PB launched our Taking a Strand campaign, focussed on engaging with legal, academic and voluntary sector specialists on the need to tackle overreliance on hair strand drug tests in the family courts.
On 5th November 2024, we sent our open letter to the Family Division and the Family Justice Board, calling on them to undertake an urgent review of hair strand drug testing in the family courts. Our open letter was sent with over 90 co-signatories, from more than 20 different organisations, including barristers and King's Counsels from a number of chambers, solicitors, academics and voluntary sector specialists.
Further updates on this campaign's progress can be found at the end of this page.
An open letter to the Family Division and Family Justice Board
“Release, the national centre of expertise on drugs and drug laws, is proud to support this campaign: through our national helpline, advocacy service, and legal clinics, we have seen the devastation caused to parents, particularly Black and Brown mothers, due to over-reliance on drug tests. For as long as this over-reliance on hair strand tests continues, parents who use drugs – whether they use them dependently or occasionally – are in an unjust, losing battle during custody proceedings. We therefore gladly join in this urgent call for the over-reliance on hair strand testing to end.”
Release Legal Emergency & Drugs Service, Co-signatories of our open letter
If you would like to show your support for our Taking a Strand campaign, you can add your own signature here:
Add your signature to the open letter
Our open letter was signed by:
Kirsty Kitchen and Naomi Delap, Birth Companions
Joanne Brown KC, Laura Morley and Lucy Logan Green, 4PB
Daniel Pierce and Emma Palmer, MSB Solicitors
Along with co-signatories:
As of March 2025. We will continue to update this list with new co-signatories periodically.
1. Emily Verity, Barrister, 1 GC Family Law
2. Jonathan Adler, Barrister, 1 Pump Court
3. Yasin Din, Barrister, 2 KBW
4. Vickie Oates, Social Worker, 24-7
5. Adele Cameron, Barrister, 4PB
6. Alex Verdan, Barrister/KC, 4PB
7. Alexandra Halliday, Barrister, 4PB
8. Amean Elgadhy, Barrister, 4PB
9. Andrew Powell, Barrister, 4PB
10. Anita Mehta, Barrister, 4PB
11. Baljinder Bath, Barrister, 4PB
12. Catherine Wood, King's Counsel, 4PB
13. Ceri White, Barrister, 4PB
14. Cliona Papazian, Barrister, 4PB
15. Fiona Munro, Barrister, 4PB
16. Henry Clayton, Barrister, 4PB
17. James Nottage, Barrister, 4PB
18. Jane Rayson, Barrister, 4PB
19. Jonathan Evans, Barrister, 4PB
20. Jonathan Rustin, Barrister, 4PB
21. Josephine Moreton, Pupil Barrister, 4PB
22. Kieran Ball, Barrister, 4PB
23. Lucy Cheetham, Barrister, 4PB
24. Michael Gration KC, Barrister, 4PB
25. Nadia Campbell-Brunton, Barrister, 4PB
26. Pippa Sanger, Barrister, 4PB
27. Prof Jo Delahunty, Barrister/KC, 4PB
28. Ralph Marnham, Barrister, 4PB
29. Ruth Kirby KC, Barrister, 4PB
30. Sam King KC, Barrister, 4PB
31. Samantha Woodham, Barrister, 4PB
32. Susannah Burley, Barrister, 4PB
33. Teertha Gupta, KC, 4PB
34. Kevin Gordon, Family Law Barrister, 5 Pump Court Chambers
35. Leszek Szczesniak, Barrister, 7 Harrington Street
36. Indy Cross, Chief Executive, Agenda Alliance
37. Dion Calder, Solicitor, Bailey Wright & Co
38. Karen Bailey, Principal Solicitor, Bailey Wright & Co
39. Diana Parkinson MBE, Trustee, Birth Companions
40. Dana Delap, Vicar, Church of England
41. Alex Laing, Barrister, Coram Chambers
42. Alison Easton, Barrister, Coram Chambers
43. Anarkali Musgrave, Barrister, Coram Chambers
44. Anna Ratcliffe, Barrister, Coram Chambers
45. Anna Walsh, Barrister, Coram Chambers
46. Anne Spratling, Barrister, Coram Chambers
47. Anne-Marie Glover, Barrister, Coram Chambers
48. Anthony Forde, Barrister, Coram Chambers
49. Bianca Jackson, Barrister, Coram Chambers
50. Caroline Croft, Barrister, Coram Chambers
51. Catherine Nicholes, Barrister, Coram Chambers
52. Hannah Gomersall, Barrister, Coram Chambers
53. Hannah Whitehouse, Barrister, Coram Chambers
54. Jacqueline Marks, Barrister, Coram Chambers
55. Jake Walker, Barrister, Coram Chambers
56. JP Cregan, Barrister, Coram Chambers
57. Judith Pepper, Barrister, Coram Chambers
58. Katherine Duncan, Barrister, Coram Chambers
59. Kyle Squire, Barrister, Coram Chambers
60. Leo Saunders Coram Chambers Marketing Manager
61. Lucinda Wicks, Barrister, Coram Chambers
62. Meena Gill, Barrister, Coram Chambers
63. Neil Fry, Barrister, Coram Chambers
64. Pollyanna Furness, Barrister, Coram Chambers
65. Rachel Cooper, Barrister, Coram Chambers
66. Ramanjit Kang, Barrister, Coram Chambers
67. Sam Watts, Barrister, Coram Chambers
68. Sarah Branson, Barrister, Coram Chambers
69. Sarah Haworth, Barrister, Coram Chambers
70. Sarah Tyler, Barrister, Coram Chambers
71. Shárin Diegan, Barrister, Coram Chambers
72. Shiva Ancliffe, KC, Coram Chambers
73. Sima Kothari, Barrister, Coram Chambers
74. Sophie Hill, Barrister, Coram Chambers
75. Sophie Kay, Barrister, Coram Chambers
76. Victoria Haberfield, Barrister, Coram Chambers
77. Tony McGovern, Director, Creighton & Partners
78. Dr Lucy Baldwin, Fellow, Durham University
79. Marilyn Hawes, CEO, Freedom From Abuse
80. Paul Hunter, Technical Director, Forensic Testing Service
81. Laura Williams, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
82. Annabel Flack, Specialist Midwife in Drugs and Alcohol, Homerton University Hospital
83. Maria Wright, Senior Associate, Hunters Law LLP
84. Kellie Ziemba, CEO, Kairos Women Working Together
85. Jane Sandall, Professor of Women's Health, King's College London
86. Karen Broadhurst, Professor, Lancaster University
87. Janey Starling, Co-director, Level Up
88. Sam Burton, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
89. Niki Gould, Director of Women's Community Services, The Nelson Trust
90. Olivia Warham, Trustee and Head of Fundraising, Not Beyond Redemption
91. Bruce Mauleverer, Trustee, Not Beyond Redemption
92. Chris Arnold, Young Oasis and Oasis Family Recovery Service Manager, Oasis Project Hastings
93. Claire Durkan, Solicitor, Release
94. Fenella Sentance, Legal Policy Researcher, Release
95. Keith Edwards, Head of Finance & Operations, Release
96. Riley Johnson, Drugs Support Advisor and NSP Specialist, Release
97. Susannah Bowyer, Deputy Director, Research in Practice
98. Meme Smart, Solicitor, Statham Gill Davies
99. Victoria Gethin, Partner, Stephensons Solicitors LLP
100. Julian Hawkhead, Senior Partner, Stowe Family Law
101. Maria Coster, Team Leader Partner, Stowe Family Law
102. Matthew Taylor, Partner, Stowe Family Law
103. Nastassia Burton, Team Leader Partner, Stowe Family Law
104. Rachel Roberts, Regional Director, Stowe Family Law
105. Shanika Haynes, Partner, Stowe Family Law
106. Katherine Graham, Woman's Specialist, Together for Mental Wellbeing & Liaison and Diversion Practitioner, Thames Magistrates Court
107. Andrew Bilson, Emeritus Professor, University of Central Lancashire
108. Caroline Bald, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Essex & British Association of Social Workers Criminal Justice Thematic Group Chair
109. Laura Abbott, Associate Professor, University of Hertfordshire
110. Kirsty Leedam, Principal Associate, Weightmans
111. Amy Van Zyl, Chief Executive Officer, Women's REFORM CiC
112. Kyle Patterson, Director/Solicitor, Yarwood Holmes Law
113. Aleksandra Romanska
114. Carey Johnson
115. Debbie Beattie
116. Emmanuelle Navarri
117. Gill Abela
118. Heidi Perry
119. Jae Swift
120. Marianne Lyons
121. Matthew Holden
122. Sheila Wilson
Campaign update November 2024
Taking a Strand has received coverage in the Observer and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Campaign update, December 2024
As of the end of the year, we have had over 100 signatures added to our open letter.
Campaign update, February 2025
Prompted by our open letter, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, has now established a Family Justice Council working group to explore the issues raised.
Led by Dr Sheena Webb, a consultant clinical psychologist and the London Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) team manager, this working group will be exploring the issues raised, and gathering information, evidence and good practice relating to the ways tests are instructed and interpreted. We are particularly pleased to hear that the working group has recognised the need for a specific focus on pregnancy and the postnatal period.
The establishment of this working group is a significant development. It represents a huge step towards addressing the overreliance on hair strand drug tests in the family courts, and reducing the potential for children to be wrongly removed from their families: a most devastating form of injustice.
