The Price of Safety

Clair Wills‘ article The Price of Safety on the trials of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon was published in the London Review of Books.

“For​ several years, I have been following the case of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, the couple who went on the run from social services and the police in January 2023, in order to prevent their baby girl being taken into care. Marten was raised in wealth and privilege: a large landed estate, acquaintance with royalty, private schools, trust funds. She had fallen out with her family, mainly because of her relationship with Gordon, a convicted sex offender who had spent much of his life in prison for assault and rape. In the years after they met, they had four children, all of whom were taken into care after a protracted battle in the family courts. They decided to try to keep the birth of their fifth baby, Victoria, secret. But after the police learned of her existence and issued a national missing persons alert, Marten and Gordon went on the run.”

Read more here.