by Jessica Bradley
Over the last few years, a small number of family court journalists have worked incredibly hard to establish incremental victories for transparency. They’ve come alongside the national roll-out of the Family Court Reporting Pilot which began a year ago.
In 2025, a judgement was published that reaffirmed journalists’ right to protect their sources, thanks to journalist Louise Tickle. And in 2024, journalist Hannah Summers successfully applied for permission to publish the name of a serial rapist.
In the tension of balancing open justice and the protection of children’s welfare, there are arguably still numerous hurdles preventing journalists from publishing information that is in the public interest and in adherence with the Article 8 rights of children.
I came across some of these barriers last year when reporting on a story for the Sheffield Tribune about Sheffield psychologist Dr Maria Downs, who is regularly instructed as an expert witness in family courts.
I heard how Dr Downs was writing in numerous psychological reports that mothers will cause emotional harm to their children if they continue to live together, because they were ‘alienating’ their children from the father.
In all of these cases, there were also allegations and/or findings of domestic abuse perpetrated by the father towards the mothers. This is despite Family Justice Council guidance in 2024 stating that parental alienation is a harmful pseudoscience that can detract attention away from the child.
I applied to two family courts for Dr Downs’ psychological reports from four family court cases. The cases had all concluded, except one, which I did attend a hearing for.
This meant it was very challenging to apply to the court for access to court documents in cases which had already concluded. And even if I could, the transparency orders wouldn’t routinely permit me access to the psychological reports.
As expected, my applications to the courts for sight of Dr Downs’ reports were not successful. After some back-and-forth between myself and the courts, the applications were taken collectively to the High Court before the Honourable Mr Justice Poole.
I wanted to pursue them because I firmly believed being able to access and report on these psychological reports could help to demonstrate how expert psychological evidence is understood, and relied by the family court – especially where allegations of parental alienation and domestic abuse are live.
I was delighted that Dr Charlotte Proudman had heard about my efforts, and was willing to take on the case pro-bono. Her new firm, Proudmans helped with valuable resources to ensure my case was properly put before the court. I applied for access to Dr Downs’ reports, the Cafcass reports, and the final court orders and judgments. I sought permission to publish the material from the four cases (except for the Cafcass reports).
The fathers, Cafcass and Dr Downs effusively opposed my application. The latter two argued that the reports contained deeply personal information about each family.
Mr Justice Poole said in his judgment: “I understand Dr Downs’s protest that she has been misrepresented in the Tribune article, but that is not a ground for depriving Ms Bradley of permission to see and publish from documents.”
Neither I nor the Sheffield Tribune heard from Dr Downs after giving her ample and timely opportunities to reply to our questions. Nor did she ask for any amendments after it was published.
After a full day’s hearing at the High Court, Mr Justice Poole granted me access to parts of Dr Downs’ reports. I’m also permitted to see Cafcass reports, final orders and unpublished judgments to help my own understanding of these cases.
Mr Justice Poole reiterated the importance of transparency, and raised the need for further guidance for journalists applying for court documents relating to proceedings they didn’t attend. He said:
“Without transparency the Family Court cannot be fully accountable for the decisions its judges make, decisions which can have lifelong implications for the families involved.”
Posted on 2nd February 2026
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