An MSP has spoken of her guilt at wishing her alcoholic dad’s passing so he could be at peace.
Monica Lennon, whose father Gerard Ward died in 2015, confessed to the feelings at a British Association of Social Workers (BASW) fringe event at the Labour conference.
She told delegates: “There were times where, not out of a place of hatred or anger but out of compassion, I did have a praying wish that maybe my dad would be taken and he would die peacefully.”
Scottish Labour’s equalities spokeswoman said she felt “really guilty” to say it but her father was in “so much emotional pain and turmoil”.
The Central Scotland MSP added: “I remember a time when he did pull through but he was given the last rights in hospital and part of me was thinking ‘I’m ready to be at peace with this’.”
Ms Lennon has spoken frankly about her father’s alcoholism in a bid to improve support services for victims and their families.
Calling for more help for the bereaved, she said: “When eventually my dad did die we were just given a death certificate. That was it, there was no chat, no leaflet, there was nothing.”
