An Angus grandmother has spoken of her horror at discovering the body of her stillborn daughter was buried in an unmarked grave more than 30 years ago.
Irene Wright started to investigate what happened to the body of baby Stacey following the revelation that hundreds of babies had been disposed of in the grounds of Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh.
Mrs Wright, 52, from Arbroath, eventually tracked her daughter’s remains to an unmarked corner of another Edinburgh cemetery, where she lies with three other stillborn infants.
She believes the disposal of her child’s body broke the law and is preparing a formal complaint to police.
Mrs Wright, a civilian worker with Police Scotland, was just 19 when she gave birth to Stacey, on November 5 1980, at Bangour Village Hospital, Livingston, West Lothian.
At the time she was told nothing about what had happened to the baby and even had to plead with staff to be told the sex.
It was not until 1996, when she had a family of her own, that she summoned up the courage to try to find out what had happened.
She claims staff at Mortonhall at the time wrongly suggested Stacey’s body had “probably” been placed in a pauper’s coffin.
Mrs Wright was too upset and depressed by this revelation to continue her search, but when the Mortonhall scandal broke she contacted stillbirth charity Sands for help.
Sands’ detective work tracked down Stacey’s remains to an unmarked grave in Rosebank Cemetery, Leith, which Mrs Wright visited in October, accompanied by her 20-year-old daughter, Simone.
She said: “They were able to show me the exact spot where Stacey is and told me that she’s not buried with a pauper, but there are three babies with her.
“We took flowers and it was just very special to be there. It felt weird because I just knew I was in the right place when we got there.”
Exhaustive checking of records showed that Stacey was buried there on November 8 1980, three days after her death but Mrs Wright was never told something she has been advised is a potential criminal breach of the law.
She said: “I don’t know who decided to bury my Stacey. She had two parents who should have made that decision.
“Who decided that my baby should be buried and that others should be put in an incinerator?
“I’m really, really angry that this information has been withheld. They denied me the chance to grieve properly and bury my child.”
She added that calls to St John’s Hospital in Livingston demanding an explanation had gone unanswered.
Mrs Wright said: “I’m tired of feeling guilty. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, no one wants to acknowledge they’re wrong. I just want answers.”
An investigation into the ashes scandal is expected to report next month but campaigners are warning that a new flood of legal action could follow over the illegal burial of babies’ bodies.
The latest revelations have prompted the Scottish Conservatives to call for a full public inquiry into the disposal of baby remains.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: “The scandal of baby ashes is much bigger than anyone realised, and it’s still growing.
“The only way to get to the bottom of it all is a full public inquiry.
“The parents need it for closure and the country needs it to find out exactly what went wrong.”
NHS Lothian nurse director Sarah Ballard-Smith said: “WeunderstandthatthismusthavebeenadistressingtimeforMsWright. WehavespokenwithMrs Wrightandhavereassuredherthat we are looking into the details regarding Stacey’s burial and willkeepherupdatedastoourfindings.”