Watchdogs to rule on baby ashes scandal as MP calls for inquiry
TWO WATCHDOGS are to be asked to adjudicate on the complaints of parents in Hull about the handling of the so-called “baby ashes scandal”.
It comes after the North Hull MP Diana Johnson renewed calls for a public inquiry, saying an investigation by Hull Council had left parents “absolutely dismayed” and still seeking answers to basic questions.
The council’s report found between 1968 and 2016, 57 families were given “incorrect or incomplete information” about what had happened to their children’s remains after they were stillborn or died shortly after birth.
Ms Johnson told the Commons earlier this week: “I really am staggered as to why I’m still having to fight this, because it seems to me absolutely obvious that an internal investigation isn’t sufficient.
“What we need is to have some fresh air on this, to have someone independent come in, look at all the records, talk to the families, ask the families about what happened.”
Last year Michael Gove, then Justice Secretary, wrote to the council calling for an independent inquiry.
The council published its own report in July, but Ms Johnson said the 22-page document left many questions, including why only two per cent of cremations were considered, while in Shropshire, a similar inquiry had investigated 100 per cent of cases.
A spokesman for the MP said they were now intending to take complaints with the council and Ministry of Justice (MOJ) further via the Local Government Ombudsman and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Hull Council said: “The MoJ agreed that, rather than carrying out further historic investigations, we should concentrate our resources on continuing our work and contributing to the National Working Group, which has been set up to advise the Government and the many other authorities experiencing the same issues, on technical considerations relating to the improvement of cremation practice.”