Wakefield Council has apologised after a court ruled it must pay damages to two children it kept in care for too long.
The children aged seven and two at the time were taken into care after their parents were arrested, the BBC reported.
They spent 10 months away from their mother despite the fact she was not charged with any offences.
‘Safeguarding children from the risk of child sexual exploitation is a responsibility we must never shy away from,’ said John Wilson, corporate director for children and young people at Wakefield Council.
‘Each case is dealt with on an individual basis, and decisions are based on the information available at the time. In this case it resulted in us taking steps to protect the children.
‘It is now clear that some of our actions fell short of the very high standard we know we must meet, and for this we apologise to the family.’
‘The Judge has highlighted areas where we could have done things better and we will work closely with partners to take immediate action to address the concerns,’ Mr Wilson added.