"On behalf of the whole country, I say it to every single person impacted: we are deeply and profoundly sorry," Starmer told parliament, describing what happened to the victims as a "stain on our history".
"The state did not do enough to protect mothers, children, and families from harm, and for this systemic failure I am truly sorry."
Between 1949 and 1976, the British state and Christian churches created a system in which young women with children outside marriage were shamed and coerced into giving up their babies to comply with the social norms of the time.
Another government program that I never knew existed.