Legislation to help survivors of Irish mother-and-baby homes now living in the UK access compensation has been tabled in the UK Parliament.
Labour MP Liam Conlon and chair of the Labour Party's Irish Society, moved 'Philomena's Law', named after survivor and campaigner Philomena Lee, as he warned that many survivors living in Britain have been deterred from making an application to the compensation scheme operated by the Government.
Oscar-winner Dame Judi Dench portrayed Ms Lee in the 2013 film 'Philomena', which documented her 50-year search for her forcibly adopted son, Anthony.
Mr Conlon said current rules in Britain mean any money accepted through the scheme would be considered as savings and could see the survivor "lose means-tested benefits and financial support for social care".
He added that ministers in Westminster could help up to 13,000 women by amending UK law to remove the risk, in line with similar changes made to help victims of the 7/7 London bombings and payments made under the Windrush compensation scheme.
Family members of Ms Lee watched in the House of Commons as Mr Conlon presented the bill.
Mr Conlon's Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme (Report) Bill would require the UK government to examine the potential merits of making the change.
The MP for Beckenham and Penge told the House of Commons: "Philomena is one of tens of thousands of women and their infant children who spent time in mother-and-baby homes across Ireland for the perceived sin of becoming pregnant outside of marriage.
"The women were regularly used as unpaid labour and infant mortality was alarmingly high."
He said the women experienced "harsh conditions, mistreatment and abuse, both physical and psychological".
"In certain homes, women were routinely separated from their children, with some being adopted against the wishes or knowledge of their mothers, as happened to Philomena Lee and her son Anthony," he said.
Mr Conlon said as a "direct result" of the abuse and trauma the women experienced, many "moved to England".
"In some cases, they came here because they thought that disappearing from their home country was the only way to protect their family's reputations," he said.
"And so for decades, thousands of survivors, including here in Britain, lived in secrecy and shame," he added.
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'Additional burden'
Mr Conlon said the Government later apologised and the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme opened to applications last year.
He said: "Ultimately, the scheme aims to acknowledge the suffering and improve the circumstances of former residents of mother-and-baby homes, which is why it's wrong that up to 13,000 survivors living here in Britain today risk losing their benefits if they accept this compensation."
He said that under current rules in the Britain "any money accepted through this payment scheme would be considered savings and could see them lose means-tested benefits and financial support for social care".
For some, he said, "it is deterring them from making any application at all, it's one of the reasons why only 5% of survivors in Britain have applied so far".
"And for others, having received the compensation offer, they are now having to weigh up whether it's worth accepting the money or if to do so would sink them into a worse financial situation overall," he added.
Mr Conlon said for many survivors the payment scheme had become an "additional burden" but noted there was a "relatively simple" solution.
He said: "The introduction of an indefinite capital disregard, which my bill is proposing, would remove any risk to an applicant's benefits and there is also strong precedent for this with the same arrangements having been applied to similar special compensation schemes in the recent past."
Mr Conlon asked for his bill to be considered at second reading on 28 March.
His legislation has already received widespread support, including from Ms Lee and actor Steve Coogan who starred in the film Philomena.
In a statement, Ms Lee said that she hopes that by supporting the bill that she "can help raise awareness of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme and ensure that British-based survivors who are eligible get the full amount of compensation without fear that their benefits or social care arrangements will be affected".
The legislation is also being backed by the SDLP.
Helpline
The London Irish Centre provides a freephone service for survivors and former residents of Mother and Baby Institutions and County Homes on 0800 519 5519
Additional reporting Tommy Meskill
