The children, a boy and a girl, were aged 13 and 9 at the date of the alleged wrongful retention. They had spent their entire lives in Portugal. The parents separated in 1997. The three youngest children remained with the father.
In late 2002 the mother moved to England. In March 2003 the mother asked the father to let the eldest of the three children join her in England. The father agreed.
In August 2003 the parents agreed that the two other children would come to England to spend the summer holiday with their mother. Subsequently, when the children had arrived, the mother and a friend of hers in Portugal tried to persuade the father to agree that the two youngest children should remain in England.
The father consented at the end of August, agreeing also to send the children’s clothes. On 6 October the father contacted the Portuguese Central Authority. The father’s return application was issued in the High Court on 30 October.
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