From what I have read about this case, it makes me uncomfortable on a number of different levels, professionally as well as personally

Judge Ellen Brantley

Ms Wecker has told a British tabloid newspaper that she had not been resident in the state for the required 30 days but had lied to the court.

Judge Brantley said: "That perhaps would give grounds to have the adoption set aside".

"I think the courts in Arkansas will take appropriate action if some kind of proceeding is instigated, and it seems to me that that is likely, but not absolutely certain."

'Villains'

But she added that the case would have to rest on stronger evidence than newspaper reports.

Tranda Wecker may face prosecution

The judge, one of only six who deals with adoption in Arkansas, did not preside over the Kilshaws' case.

She told the BBC: "I think that selling of children is, in the words of your Prime Minister, disgusting, and from what I have read about this case, it makes me uncomfortable on a number of different levels, professionally as well as personally.

"The big issue is that the children, if they are to be adopted, are adopted by parents who can give them a loving and stable home, and I think that ought to be regardless of the monetary amounts that anybody is able to provide.

"It would appear in this case that there are a number of villains and, thus far, no heroes that I have seen."

Checks on couple

Judge Brantley denied that Arkansas - where an adoption can be carried out within 10 days - was a soft touch compared with elsewhere in the US.

The Kilshaws say they will fight to keep the babies

State law requires a "thorough" study of the home and prospective parents, carried out by a social worker and usually involving several visits, she said.

"It includes descriptions of the home, health checks on the couple, interviews with people who have known them, checks on their criminal records."

In the Kilshaws' case, the judge in charge of proceedings would have required a similar study carried out by social services in the UK, she added.

Judge Brantley confirmed that she had been contacted by a social worker from North Wales, where the twins have been taken into care, about aspects of the case.