EMMA THOMPSON - THOMPSON BACKS MOTHERS' RIGHTS

THOMPSON BACKS MOTHERS' RIGHTS

Actress EMMA THOMPSON has slammed the British government for its "Victorian principles" on maternity leave - insisting mothers in other European countries have a better chance of juggling babies and work.
The Love Actually star has a 10-year-old daughter and an adopted son with husband Greg Wise, and admits she has struggled to balance her home life with her movie career.
And Thompson insists women in Britain who take a break from work to have children are less likely to continue their career than their European counterparts, because of the U.K.'s stringent rules about maternity leave.
She says, "There is more pressure on women in particular. It depends on where you are in the world. It's not brilliant here in Britain compared to, for example, Scandinavia - maternity leave and everything is different and they're much more clued in to what parents and children need. We still have a lot of Victorian principles hanging on, you can see it and feel it."