THOUSANDS of women are calling on the government to apologise for a ‘life-time of grief’ following a scandal many years ago.

Around a quarter of a million women in the UK were unmarried teenagers when they became pregnant and were 'forced' to give birth at 'mother and baby homes'.

An idea that seems ludicrous in today’s society but unfortunately is the sad reality for thousands of families across the country back in the 1950's and 60's.

Heartbroken mothers are now calling on the Government to apologise for the scandal which has seen families ‘torn in every direction’.

Former MP and health minister Ann Keen, who was brought up in Ewloe, Flintshire, was sent to Swansea at the age of 17 in 1966 to have her baby she was ‘forced’ to give up.

Speaking on Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2, she said it was ‘so wrong’.

She added that it was ‘all about shame’ and so ‘became immediately under other people’s control’ as it was ‘all about how much you had done wrong’.

Ms Keen told Jeremy Vine that the stigma attached to not being married was ‘awful’ and you felt you had ‘no dignity and worthless’.

The former MP said when she was sent to Swansea and gave birth, she was allowed to spend 10 days with her newborn baby boy, but on the eighth day he was sent away because they were ‘getting far too close’ and was unable to say goodbye.

She went on to say: “It’s totally inhumane.

“How do you then get discharged and forget about this now and carry on with life.”

Speaking to Jeremy Vine, Ms Keen said she was told to never mention it again because people would ‘have no respect’ for a ‘bad girl’ and her son would grow up with the ‘stigma of illegitimacy’.

Unlike many however, Ms Keen was eventually re-united with her son when he was 28.

She added that families are being ‘torn in every direction’ over this and the government should apologise.

Calls have been made for the UK to follow Australia, which became the first country back in 2013 to apologise for forced adoptions.