Victory for parents campaigning for baby ashes inquiry in Hull
The government's agreed there should be an independent inquiry into historic practices relating to infant cremations in the city.
Parents who have been campaigning for an independent inquiry into the baby ashes scandal in Hull are celebrating after the government's agreed one should now take place.
It's after a year long campaign by Hull mum Tina Trowhill - who found out her baby son's ashes, William, were scattered without her consent back in 1994.
An independent investigation into child cremations was initially resisted by the city council.
Hull North MP Diana Johnson's says the announcement's a victory for parents.
The news came in a letter to Diana Johnson MP from Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, the Secretary of State for Justice, setting out the Governments plan for a local inquiry.
Hull North MP Diana Johnson said:
“It’s very good news that the Government has agreed that there should be an independent inquiry into historic practices relating to infant cremations in the Hull area.
“The Secretary of State for Justice met Tina Trowhill recently and agreed that there is more to find out about what went wrong over many years in Hull. This is a victory for Tina Trowhill and other parents in Hull and from around the country.
“It’s just regrettable that such an independent inquiry was resisted locally and, as a result, this news is a year later coming than it should have been.
“I hope that the Government will now ensure that Hull City Council have access to the resources to undertake the inquiry properly. Only full independent scrutiny of what happened over many years will give families confidence that the terrible errors of the past will not be repeated in the future.”
A Hull City Council spokesperson told Viking:
"We are very sensitive to the feelings of those who have been affected by this historic issue and of the need to ensure that parents across the country do not have to deal with the upset and uncertainty of not knowing what has happened to their baby's ashes.
"No decision has yet been made to hold a local enquiry but we will consider the Minister's request taking into account all of the work that has been undertaken locally with the hospital and funeral directors, the previous enquiries in Scotland and Shropshire and the recent national call for evidence, towards which we have contributed substantially.
"Our position has always been that this is a national issue and that the best way to ensure that parents, at a time of great distress, have confidence in a consistent and caring process across all hospitals, funeral directors and crematoria in dealing with the ashes of their babies is for the Government to develop and issue clear guidelines within a national Code of Practice, based on the findings of a national inquiry."