Horrified mother opens son's nappy to discover he was circumcised after visit to Muslim grandparents

A mother has described her horror after opening her three-month-old baby's nappy to find he had been circumcised without her consent.

The woman, from Nottingham, said she was so distraught at seeing her son covered in blood that she had to leave the room.

Three people have now been arrested, including a 61-year-old man – thought to be a doctor – on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent.

"I opened the nappy and I ended up having to leave the room because I felt hysterical," the mother, who did not want to be identified, told the BBC.

"It was just awful really, it wasn't very nice, there was all blood there and stuff."

The boy was said to have been operated on in July 2013 while on a visit to his paternal grandparents, who are Muslim.

The mother got in touch with social services, then contacted Nottinghamshire Police in November 2014 who reportedly deemed it a non-criminal matter and referred it to the General Medical Council.

Male circumcision is generally assumed to be lawful in the UK provided there is valid consent, according to the British Medical Association. But protest groups have called for the practice to be banned for non-therapeutic reasons.

The mother, who didn't give her consent and believes circumcision amounts to "male genital mutilation", said her complaints to the authorities felt like "speaking to a brick wall".

"It's even illegal to dock dogs' tails. I've come home crying my eyes out thinking a dog has got more rights than my child," she said. "There's something seriously not right with it all. You can protect a dog, you can protect a girl, but not a boy."

She eventually sought help from the anti-circumcision group Men Do Complain and leading human rights lawyer Saimo Chahal QC, who wrote to Nottinghamshire Police.

Detectives reopened the investigation and made three arrests on 21 June, including the 61-year-old man, a 44-year-old man, 47-year-old woman. All three have been released pending further investigation.

In the years since the circumcision, the mother said her son has suffered from recurring infections, and his penis regularly becomes inflamed and sore.

"It looks like he's been half circumcised is the only way to describe it. There's half the skin, it's not all the way over. It swells up, it gets red and a little bit sore in places."

"As a new mum I didn't know what I was doing with a baby anyway, but now I had that added worry on my mind. I was really upset about it. It didn't really get much better from there, it's just been ongoing really."

She complained people didn't take her concerns seriously.

"Even a couple of police officers have made remarks like 'Oh my husband is circumcised, I think it's better'. Or 'Oh they are tougher than they look, it will toughen him up'. It's just silly little comments like that. It's just heartbreaking.

"I wrote to MPs and they basically shoved me off. Everybody you speak to, it's like speaking to a brick wall."