Last year, the discovery of thousands of malnourished children in an investigation sponsored by Brussels prompted an emergency-feeding programme. But attempts to persuade the authorities to do something fundamental, he says, meet with a blank wall of vested interest. Posing as a wealthy, would-be parent of a Romanian orphan, I discover what he means. If you apply to adopt a Romanian orphan legally in the UK it takes months of approvals and then a child is selected for you. If you are prepared to pay, then you can shop for a baby, as I did in a town some three hours drive north of Bucharest.
Local gossip says the orphanage director is making a fortune from the trade.
She has powerful friends and the police are not allowed to investigate. She shows me 60 babies she has in her baby shop that week. They all look clean but are still prone to the rocking motion of babies suffering from neglect. In the surrounding villages, I find the network which feeds the trade. I am told of one couple who lost two of their children to the orphanage down the road.