Mortonhall clients stunned Council sits on investigation report for days

Dame Elish Angiolini submitted her investigation into the cremation of babies at the council-run Mortonhall facility in Edinburgh last week but it has been revealed the council failed to tell the families involved. The crematorium buried or scattered the ashes of babies for decades but parents had been told there would be nothing left to scatter after their babies had been cremated.  Former Dame Elish, the former lord advocate, gave her findings to the council on 14 April after a probe into former practices at the crematorium.

Patrick McGuire, from Thompsons Solicitors, who represents many of the families involved, said:  “Firstly I would have to say that the families and myself are stunned that we learned this news through reports in the media. My clients are bereaved parents who have been to hell and back over this whole business and they expect to be treated in a sympathetic and decent manner. Being kept properly informed is the least they could expect from Edinburgh City  Council after what they have been through. They do not expect to receive news like this from media reports. The parents and myself are also extremely concerned at any suggestion that the council have been in possession of this report since last week. They must come out publicly and state unequivocally when they received the report. If it transpires that they have been sitting on this for several days it will constitute a huge breach of trust by the Council who have already behaved in a manner that has severely tested the trust of my clients.”

Dorothy Maitland, an affected parent, a Thompsons Client and operations director of the Stillborn and Neonatal Death Society said she was "very, very disappointed" that no-one from the council had let her know they had received the report. She told the BBC "I think they could have informed us that the report was with the council. None of us have slept last night."I would like to meet with Edinburgh City Council to discuss how we are going to support all these parents, bearing in mind that I am an affected parent and I am very scared that what I have actually been told is in fact not the truth.