A damning indictment of the family justice system has been exposed after a mother's successful appeal against Judge Robin Tolson KC's ruling on overnight contact with her three young children. The case highlights a disturbing pattern of behaviour by the judge, who allowed the father to have unsupervised access despite being under police investigation for alleged rape and having admitted to domestic abuse.
High Court Judge Michael Keehan has now ruled that Judge Tolson was wrong to dismiss the serious allegations so hastily, stating that such a decision should not be made without first considering the outcome of an ongoing police investigation. The case will now be sent back for a fresh hearing, raising significant concerns about how domestic abuse and rape allegations are handled within the family justice system.
This is not the first time Judge Tolson's decisions have been overturned on appeal. Six years ago, he was heavily criticised for his 'outdated' views on rape, including suggesting that a woman cannot be raped if she does not physically resist her partner. His decision was subsequently overturned by Mrs Justice Russell in January 2020, leading to concerns from dozens of MPs about his continued involvement in family court cases involving allegations of rape and domestic abuse outside the capital.
The mother, referred to as Anna, had sought to appeal Judge Tolson's March 2025 judgment from Reading Family Court. She argued that her ex-partner should only have very limited, supervised contact with their children, citing years of alleged rape, emotional and verbal abuse, and an attempted strangulation. At the time of the initial family court hearing, police were investigating these claims, yet Judge Tolson proceeded without awaiting the outcome of the criminal investigation or conducting his own.
Barrister Elisabeth Traugott, representing the mother, had called for Judge Tolson to recuse himself from the case due to his remarks aligning with his previously criticised comments. Judge Tolson had defended his approach, stating: 'I was criticised in that decision for my approach to the question of consent. I do not accept that criticism.'
Judge Tolson's conduct has been described as warranting urgent consideration by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office and the Lady Chief Justice, with a loss of confidence among women in his ability to fairly handle serious domestic abuse cases.