Government apologises for stillborn babies buried in mass graves

The government has issued a "profound apology" to parents whose stillborn babies were buried in mass graves without their knowledge.

For several decades, from the 1930s to the early 1980s, many parents who lost babies in NHS hospitals were given no say in what happened to their bodies and no information about where they were taken. Stillborn babies were taken from their mothers and buried in communal graves, and many parents spent decades not knowing where their child lay.

"I'm sorry"

Speaking in the Commons during a debate for Baby Loss Awareness Week, the health secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: "On behalf of the government, I want to issue a profound apology to them."

"I'm sorry for the unthinkable pain caused by those historic practices, because what happened to those parents should never have happened and we need to ensure it can never happen again."

A mother's campaign

The apology follows a campaign by Gina Jacobs, from the Wirral, whose son Robert was stillborn in 1969. She did not find out where he was buried for 53 years.

"I've wanted this, I've campaigned for this, I've begged for this, anyone who would listen, for four years now, and to actually have it said to me by the minister herself," she told ITV News. "To me it's like a lottery win. This brings dignity and respect to these babies, because they never got it at the time."

More than 1,000 stillborn babies were buried at Frankby, Plymyard and Landican cemeteries on the Wirral between 1935 and 1981. Another burial ground in Royton, Oldham, is believed to hold more than 270.

"Far more to do"

In July, Liverpool City Council unanimously passed a motion calling for a parliamentary apology, describing the handling of stillborn babies as "a cruel violation of human dignity". Councillor Kris Brown, who proposed it, said the apology would "go a long way" but called for a written apology and a national framework to support families.

The council wants national funding to retrieve burial records and a full review of the practice. "There is still far more to do for full justice," he said.

Finding records

The practice took place in hospitals across the country, though records vary from place to place. Parents trying to find out where a baby was buried can contact the hospital trust where the baby was born, the local council's bereavement services, which hold cemetery records, and the cemetery or crematorium itself.

The charity Sands, which supports anyone affected by the death of a baby, has a free helpline on 0808 164 3332 and can help families looking for information. Today, parents are given choices about funerals and memorials, and hospitals have specialist bereavement midwives to support them.