LAWYERS dealing with the baby ashes scandal in Aberdeen have seen a three-fold increase in cases since the city council announced a financial compensation scheme for parents whose children’s remains were mixed with unrelated adult ashes at a crematorium.
Families affected by the baby ashes scandal at Aberdeen’s Hazlehead Crematorium have been given a deadline of February 1 for lodging compensation claims.
Baby ashes were mixed together with those from unrelated adults at the crematorium. They were then given back to relatives of the deceased adult.
Grieving parents were then told there were no ashes from their infants. A report into the scandal by former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini described the practices at Hazelhead as “unethical and abhorrent”.
The 400-page national cremation investigation was commissioned by the Scottish Government.
Now lawyers representing Aberdeen parents say they have been inundated with fresh cases and are “absolutely astonished” at the number of people contacting them for help.
Thompsons Solicitors, which helped the council develop the compensation package, said dozens more families were also told by crematorium staff that no ashes could be recovered have contacted them to help them fight for compensation.
Patrick McGuire, a partner with the firm, said the number of Aberdeen cases they are dealing with had trebled since the announcement.
He said: “We’ve now been contacted by a huge number of parents. We originally represented 21 families but that figure has now risen to 67. I have rarely seen such a large number of people contacting us in short space of time. I think what this actually shows is the number of families in the Aberdeen area that have been touched by this scandal and have suffered in silence.They no longer need to do so.”
Hazlehead was among those investigated after it emerged staff at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh had been burying baby ashes in secret for decades.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon paid tribute to “courage and dignity” of families involved, saying she hoped action being taken would give some comfort after Angiolini’s report into the scandal was published.
At the time, McGuire said the practices the investigation had uncovered about the Hazelhead crematorium would “fill any right-thinking person with revulsion”.
He also criticised the council for treating the families affected with what he felt was “a callous, almost wicked disregard” since the baby ashes scandal broke.
He added: “The parents in Aberdeen had to resort to legal action to get answers, but the local authority’s response was to use legal tactics to delay, deny and confuse. I find it difficult to believe that the horror of what was going on at Hazelhead was unknown to council officials.”
Several months ago, an interim director was put in place at the Aberdeen City Council department criticised over the baby ashes scandal earlier this year. Bernadette Marjoram took over the role held by Pete Leonard, who was responsible for communities, housing and infrastructure, and whose remit included overseeing Hazlehead Crematorium. Leonard failed to attend a meeting where councillors were shown an internal report, believed to be critical of his handling of the scandal, and is believed to be on sick leave.
An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “We are committed to moving towards a settlement of claims for compensation and are working with all parties to ensure the individuals and families involved in the process are kept fully informed throughout the process.
“The council has wholeheartedly apologised for the distress past practices at Aberdeen Crematorium have caused. The commitment to the compensation process is part of a full and comprehensive response from the organisation, but Aberdeen City Council is clear that the impact on those affected must never be forgotten.”
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