BBC uncover extent of baby ashes scandal

A CREMATORIUM has not ­returned the ashes of any dead babies to their parents in the past five years.

A total of 24 babies were cremated at Aberdeen Crematorium over the period, but on no occasions were ashes given to their families, details released under freedom of information legislation show.

A BBC Scotland documentary team investigated the situation in the wake of the Mortonhall scandal in Edinburgh.

It emerged last year that the council-run crematorium in Edinburgh secretly buried babies’ remains without their parents’ knowledge. Former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini has been appointed to lead an investigation into the practices there.

The BBC asked council-run crematoriums across Scotland whether ashes are returned to the parents of stillborn babies and infants up to the age of six months who had died, but some of the answers it received related to babies up to a year old when they passed away. The team said it was told by Aberdeen City Council that the authority did not return ashes to parents for babies up to 18 months of age.

A spokesman for the council said there are “no recoverable remains from a baby and infant up to the age of about 18 months”.

Patrick McGuire, a lawyer representing some of the Mortonhall families, said the investigation shows the situation there is “simply the tip of the iceberg”.