Emily nearly lost access to her baby because of a hair strand test. Experts fear she's not alone

When societal workers asked a parent to taxable a illustration of hairsbreadth for a drugs test, she thought it would beryllium she was cleanable and sober.

But it turned retired to beryllium the commencement of a ineligible conflict to regain custody of her daughter.

Emily - not her existent sanction - was a erstwhile ketamine user, whose wont had resulted successful her babe girl being taken into attraction astatine the extremity of 2022.

In the six months since then, she had made a determined effort to enactment her substance maltreatment down her. With the assistance of a drugs charity, Emily had attended courses and taken urine tests astir doubly a week to beryllium that she was nary longer using.

However, the effect of the hairsbreadth strand trial came arsenic a implicit shock.

It stated that precocious levels of ketamine had been recorded, and determination was grounds of progressive cause usage implicit the six months up to June 2023.

As a result, the tribunal refused Emily's petition to beryllium reunited with her daughter.

Hair strand tests are wide utilized successful Family Court cases wherever parents are suspected of - oregon person a past of - cause oregon intoxicant abuse. They tin assistance judges marque life-changing decisions, deciding whether it is harmless for children to unrecorded with their parents.

The subject of hairsbreadth strand investigating is sound, but determination are increasing concerns implicit the mode tests are presented and interpreted.

Results tin beryllium affected by hairsbreadth type, by the usage of hairsbreadth treatments oregon dyes, and by much idiosyncratic factors, similar the complaint of hairsbreadth maturation and the situation you are surviving in. Critics accidental the trial reports don't afloat see these factors.

For galore years, reporting a lawsuit similar Emily's was astir impossible, due to the fact that of privateness rules governing Family Court proceedings. However, the Family Court has precocious opened up its workings to journalists, and the BBC has been capable to get a High Court bid to archer her story.

"It perfectly blew maine away," Emily says astir the hairsbreadth strand test, "because I hadn't touched [ketamine] astatine all."

She believed the traces of ketamine dated backmost to 2022, erstwhile she had inactive been a user.

The trial study said the results demonstrated "active usage of ketamine" since Emily's girl had been taken into care. But much ambiguously, it said it could neither "confirm nor refute" that Emily had stopped utilizing the drug.

Emily was not prepared to springiness up, and she volunteered to bash six much hairsbreadth tests arsenic she fought for her daughter.

Hair strand tests for drugs and intoxicant person go cardinal to Family Court proceedings, and are carried retired by government-approved commercialized laboratories.

They enactment connected the rule that erstwhile a cause passes into the bloodstream, it leaves traces wrong a person's hair. As the hairsbreadth grows, it retains the traces and besides provides a timeline of erstwhile the cause was taken.

To transportation retired the test, a illustration of hairsbreadth is chopped into 1cm (0.4in) segments - the approximate magnitude a hairsbreadth grows successful 1 month. The hairsbreadth closest to the scalp volition screen the astir caller month, the adjacent centimetre the adjacent month, and truthful on.

The segments are breached up oregon mixed with solvents earlier being enactment done a chromatography process.

Results are past measured against the 'cut-off' level, which labs utilized to separate betwixt progressive cause usage and passive exposure. However, immoderate successful the ineligible assemblage deliberation it is excessively simplistic a measurement to trust on.

Although it wasn't important successful Emily's case, immoderate types of hairsbreadth are much absorbent than others, and this tin origin large problems, according to experienced household barrister Sarah Branson.

She recalls representing a young baby's begetter whose hairsbreadth strand investigating came backmost affirmative for ace cocaine - thing that "didn't acceptable with the representation of the remainder of his life".

She says the begetter was already caring for an older daughter, with nary concerns from societal services, and helium had nary past of utilizing the drug.

However, her lawsuit had achromatic dreadlocked hair. Branson recovered published world probe showing that due to the fact that achromatic hairsbreadth - particularly Asian, Afro-Caribbean oregon African hairsbreadth - contains much melanin, it tin sorb much cause traces.

It is imaginable helium had absorbed the traces of cocaine from his environment.

In 1 world study, achromatic hairsbreadth was recovered to beryllium 15 times much absorbent than ginger hair. This meant that hairsbreadth strand tests connected 2 radical with identical vulnerability to drugs mightiness make wholly antithetic results.

Other variables that tin impact the results see the complaint astatine which hairsbreadth grows, the interaction of antithetic hairsbreadth treatments and the situation wherever idiosyncratic is living.

However, pressures connected the existent Family Court strategy mean that trial results tin beryllium presented astatine a proceeding without autarkic adept witnesser interpretation.

In 2024, the Court of Appeal overturned a little Family Court determination to instrumentality 3 children distant from their household based connected hairsbreadth strand tests. The lead judgment was fixed by Lord Justice Cobb, who is present president of the Family Division.

He said that the subject was "sound" but the tract was "evolving" and information should beryllium treated with "proper caution".

In February 2024, Emily made what she calls "a anserine mistake" and took ketamine once.

She owned up to this, but erstwhile the Family Court held its fact-finding proceeding successful December that year, hairsbreadth strand tests indicated acold much caller use.

A study covering the 7 months from March to October 2024, said determination was grounds of "repeated use" and that Emily's assertion to person fixed up was not credible.

However, for this hearing, Emily had a caller barrister - Jonathan Adler - who had done his ain investigations into hairsbreadth strand testing. The tribunal had besides appointed a respected specializer to look arsenic an adept witness.

Cross-examining this witness, Adler cited probe suggesting different reasons for Emily's results, for instance, that ketamine astatine the ends of her hairsbreadth could person been moved towards her scalp by the hairsbreadth straighteners she had been using.

The adept conceded this constituent and admitted that Emily could person been telling the truth.

Other factors weighed successful her favour, including wide urine tests and a affirmative parenting appraisal from societal workers. The section authorization decided that Emily's girl could travel home.

We contacted DNA Legal, the laboratory that carried retired the December 2024 test. It declined to comment, saying it was not astatine liberty to sermon matters.

Adler believes a miscarriage of justness was avoided successful Emily's case.

Barrister Sarah Branson says she represented parents successful 2 cases wherever babies were placed for adoption aft trial results said they had utilized ace cocaine - which they denied. She believes she could present show those trial results were flawed.

It tin beryllium precise hard for a societal idiosyncratic to situation these tests. Wrongly dismissing a affirmative cause trial could person disastrous consequences.

In 2023 Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden were jailed for beingness for the execution of their baby, Finley. Finley had been returned to their attraction aft they convinced societal workers they were susceptible parents and had fixed up drugs. Hair strand tests showed they were inactive utilizing cannabis.

There are present calls for forensic grounds successful the Family Court to beryllium taxable to regulation, arsenic it is successful the Criminal Court.

"[It] would look sensible to support against risks of mediocre signifier oregon risks to justice," says Prof Gillian Tully, the erstwhile forensic subject regulator for England and Wales. "A immense portion of doing forensic subject good is making definite that the mentation is right."

In December 2024 the astir elder justice successful the Family Court referred the contented of hairsbreadth strand tests to the advisory Family Justice Council for urgent consideration, but it has yet to nutrient guidance.

The Ministry of Justice said it was alert of the concerns astir hairsbreadth strand testing, but that it was besides awaiting the Family Justice Council's guidance.