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Australia to say sorry to abused British child migrants

An apology is to be made to the victims of child migration schemes who were shipped from Britain to Australia, where many suffered abuse and neglect.

On Monday, the Australian government will say sorry to the thousands of children deported there during the twentieth century.

Meanwhile, Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, will this week say he is to look into what can be done to make amends to all the children who were shipped to Australia, Canada and other former colonies, in schemes undertaken by successive governments up until 1967.

The children were separated from their families and told they were orphans, while the parents were told that they had gone to a better life. But most were brought up in institutions, or by farmers, and many were treated as child slave labour.

A Hollywood film, starring the Oscar-nominated actress Emily Watson, telling the story of the "orphans", is now in production. Although ministers said they were rescuing children from deprivation, victims' groups say the reality is that thousands of infants were sent to help populate Australia and other countries with, what was called at the time, "good white stock".

Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)