MOTHER Julie Morrison-Begg has told how her baby’s ashes were found by Dame Elish Angiolini in a cupboard after 13 years of fighting for justice.
Mother-of-two Morrison-Begg, of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, lost her first child Erin at 36 weeks after three days in labour in July 2003.
She was told by staff at Daldowie Crematorium, near Uddingston, that there would were no ashes.
However, her baby’s ashes were discovered on a shelf in a funeral parlour in Glasgow two weeks ago. Morrison-Begg said: “When I got the call from Dame Elish to say they had found Erin Elizabeth’s ashes I thought it was a hoax. I couldn’t believe it after all those years of fighting.
“I am going to keep her ashes in the house because I wouldn’t trust anyone else with them.”
Although she is relieved to have her baby’s ashes back, Julie and other parents are calling for a public inquiry because they believe the investigation leaves them with more questions than answers.
She said: “This investigation hasn’t solved anything for the parents. I am grateful for having the ashes back but there are still loads of questions about the failed system in hospitals, crematoria and funeral parlours.
“It is a disgrace and we all deserve a public inquiry.”
Linsay and David Bonar, of Blackwood, near Lanark, launched the Forget-Me-Not care and counselling group for bereaved parents in memory of their son Lachlan who died just three days old in January 2006.
Linsay said the investigation had left many bereaved parents “very angry”. “It has raised more questions than it has answered,” she said
Each parent was sent a copy of the 420-page report along with a personal report about their own children. Another mother, Stacey Lamb, from Glasgow, was left without her son Daniel’s ashes after Daldowie staff told her there was nothing left.
After seeing the 420-page report, she said: “I am so angry. I don’t understand how they think what they’ve done was acceptable. Nothing in the report shows they have expressed any remorse.”
The National Association of Funeral Directors said: “Where a family has made arrangements directly with a funeral director, we expect our members to make every effort ... to remain in contact with the family and support them in collecting the ashes when the time is right.”
Shocking report into baby ashes scandal exposes 'unethical and abhorrent practices' at crematoria
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