REFORM'S first woman MP has revealed how her mother was forced to give up a baby boy for adoption, and took the secret to her grave.

Monmouth School for Girls alumni Sarah Pochin, who grew up in the Forest of Dean, wiped away tears as she told the House of Commons in an emotional address: "My own mother was pressurised into giving up a baby for adoption, and this was handled by the church.

"I only found out after her death – she carried her secret to her grave.

"When I found out, I tried to find my sibling, but drew a blank. I had to pay privately to find him, and we’ve now been united."

The Runcorn and Helsby MP, who won a by election by just six votes last year, was speaking last month during a debate on adoption, and before Sir Keir Starmer stepped down as prime minister.

She asked: "Can the Prime Minister assure those affected that the new systems and resources will be given the funding they need to reunite families?"

He replied: "She’s shown huge courage in saying that in the chamber today, and the way she described her mother taking the secret to her grave is very powerful and an example of the way in which some people simply feel they can’t talk about this and didn’t talk about this, and where they’ve passed will never now be able to talk about this, so she shows great courage in speaking on her mother’s behalf as well.

"I’m glad that there has been that reuniting, but it can’t be the painful journey that she’s just described. We have to do better than that, and we will."

Sir Keir issued a formal apology for historic forced adoption of babies from unmarried mothers, which he branded a "stain on our history."

Afterwards, the MP posted: "I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for all the messages of support yesterday.

"The House of Commons can often be an adversarial place to work, but yesterday it was full of warmth, kindness and goodwill.

"I was able to share my own family’s story of pressured adoption, when my mother was forced to give up a child.

"I did not expect it to be such an emotional moment, but telling that story in the awe-inspiring surroundings of the House of Commons affected me more deeply than I had anticipated."

It is believed an estimated 185,000 babies of unmarried mothers were adopted in England and Wales between 1949 and 1976.

Sir Keir announced that the Government is funding a national online resource to help people locate adoption records relevant to them.

"We’re working with all those affected and the families precisely on that issue, to make sure that all the relevant information is put together.

"It’s a difficult job because it’s held in different places in different ways.

"Therefore, I can’t stand here and pretend, ‘all the information’s available, we’ve simply got it into one place’.

"It is going to take a lot of work to get it all there and some of it may not be retrievable, but we’ll do everything we can to make sure it’s as complete as possible as quickly as possible."