Did Theresa May Say Pedophiles Should Be Allowed to Adopt Children?


Did Theresa May Say Pedophiles Should Be Allowed to Adopt Children?

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On 5 August 2018, the junk news site Neon Nettle falsely reported that British Prime Minister Theresa May had argued that pedophiles should be allowed to adopt children under the headline,


"British PM Theresa May: Pedophiles Should Be Allowed to Adopt Children Too." The story began recirculating in mid-January 2019 amid news that May's Brexit plans had failed in Parliament.


Neon Nettle reported that, "With Theresa May on shaky ground as the current Conservative leader and British Prime Minister, details of an executive order she made that would give more rights


to child abusers, has come to light. May had ordered a review of current legislation that would prevent pedophiles from adopting children claiming that it was a 'breach of their human


rights.'"


As with everything published by Neon Nettle, the story should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism, and with good reason — it is not true. The story is a twisted version of a 2010


news report in The Telegraph, a British publication, that reported a reader in law at the London School of Economics had called on May, then the Home Secretary, to "relax rules which


automatically ban sex offenders from caring for children, saying that this could breach their human rights."


The Telegraph reported that May had ordered a review of the Vetting and Barring Scheme, a