Oona King

Written by Roz Lewis, published in 
The Guardian 

Oona talks about her parents, growing up as the only mixed-race child in her class, and being an adoptive parent

I was born in Sheffield. My father, Preston King, is African American; my mother, Hazel, is a Jewish Geordie. I have a brother, Slater, who is two years younger than me. Slater and I hated each other and we fought like cats and dogs when we were smaller. Now I love him to bits.

Hot off the press: here's the report on Adoption that myself and other members of the House of Lords have worked on for many months.

We argue that adoptive parents should receive more support to help them care for vulnerable children. This is because children adopted from care have often experienced neglect and abuse and therefore may have a range of complex needs. There should be a legal obligation on Local Authorities and others to provide post-adoption support to children and adopters, where that support would previously have been paid for by the state: it just isn't fair to expect adoptive parents to pick up the financial price tag (on top of the emotional challenges) from giving a loving home to Britain's most vulnerable children. 

Ms Oona King (Bethnal Green and Bow): I am honoured to follow such a commendable speech by the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh). I welcome the honesty of the speeches that have been made from both sides of the House. The hon. Gentleman said that we must view the matter in terms of what is happening in the real world. Regardless of whether we like change, it has happened. My hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Lorna Fitzsimons) and I were both 29 when we were elected to the House, and we can tell hon. Members, in case they had not noticed, that life for our generation has changed beyond recognition. The hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady) is not so much beyond our age group.