I let my girl have sex at 11, admits mother

The mother of the three teenage 'baby factory' sisters has admitted she gave her blessing to her youngest daughter having sex when she was just 11.

Julie Atkins's daughter Jemma, now 14, was the first to become pregnant when she was only 12.

The father of her child, David Ryan, who was 14 at the time, has told how Mrs Atkins let them have sex in her home while she slept in the next bedroom. Mrs Atkins, 38, who is jobless, confessed: "I did let Jemma sleep with her boyfriend under my roof.

"I can't excuse what I did to let it happen but if I had said 'No' they would have done it anyway, whether I was there or not.

"I have taught my children never to do anything behind my back." Her other daughters Jade, 15 and 18-year-old Natasha, also had babies by the age of 16.

Jemma gave birth to T-Jay, now 15 months, in February last year; Natasha had a girl, Amani, now six months, in November; and Jade had Lita, now five months, only weeks later.

They all share a three-bedroom council house in Derby with Mrs Atkins, living off more than £31,000 in state handouts a year, including rent and childcare.

One-night stand

Only Amani's father - described as a 38-year-old Asian gambler - contributes to his child's care. Lita was born after a one-night stand.

Last night Natasha revealed more details about her relationship with her daughter's father.

"We met through a friend just over two years ago,' she said.

"He lives with his parents and they want him to have an arranged marriage so he has not told them about me or Amani.

"He does visit and buys her clothes. I do like him but I don't know whether I would like to be with him permanently."

She added that he is visiting Pakistan at the moment.

'Clear case of crass stupidity'

Mrs Atkins - who had her daughters by two men - has blamed the girls' pregnancies on sex education not being taught early enough in schools.

But last night Dr Adrian Rogers, a GP and adviser to pressure group Family Focus, said her decision to let Jemma have sex at her home at 11 was a "clear case of crass stupidity".

He added: "There is an argument - which originates from the so-called liberal intelligentsia - that it's better to let youngsters have sex upstairs where you know where they are than on a park bench somewhere where they could come to harm.

"Surely this case shows that the biggest social challenge of what is left of Blair's Britain is to try to reinstate a culture which provides care and control for children.

"This really ought to be a wake-up call to fire all those people who have given bad advice over the last 30 years that when it comes to sex it's better to be safe than to say no."

Grim background

Meanwhile, further details of the family's grim background emerged as Mrs Atkins claimed that Jemma and Jade's father is prevented from seeing them until they are 16 by an injunction.

As the Daily Mail reported yesterday, Martin Dodd, 42, did not know he was a grandfather until he read about his daughters in newspapers this week.

He blamed Mrs Atkins for their situation, saying she had set a bad example.

Social services yesterday refused to comment on her claims. A spokesman said: "We cannot comment on individual cases."

Sheila McFarlane, Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinator for Derby, said the programme's strategy "is committed to giving young people the skills they need to resist the pressure to have sex too early".

She added: "All young people, including those who are pregnant or who are young parents, can access services in the city that are professional, and young people friendly."

Police have said David and Jemma, and Jade and her partner, who has not been identified, could face questioning for having unlawful intercourse under the age of consent.

What this family tells us about Britain today, by Melanie Phillips - only in today's Daily Mail