Lydia Reid’s week-old son, Gary, died almost half a century ago, but it was only this week that his remains were returned to her, and she intended to hold a funeral for him on Saturday.
Foysol Choudhury MSP has assisted his constituent for the last year, and said how glad he was for her. Mrs Reid who has bowel cancer is currently in the Western General Hospital for treatment. She told the BBC she wanted to give her baby son who died in 1975 a respectful funeral before she dies.
Her story is told in the accompanying BBC report which you can see below and here.
Mr Choudhury said: “I am glad that Lydia and the family are finally getting the burial for Gary that they deserve.
“However, this has taken far too long and Lydia has had to face many difficulties along the way.
“When something as tragic as the death of a baby happens, as happened to Gary when he was just days old in 1975, Scotland should be ensuring that families are given the compassion and care that they deserve.
“Instead, Lydia has been left battling for over 40 years to get answers to her questions and, recently, to get Gary’s remains back from the Crown Office and NHS so that he can finally be laid to rest.
“Through working with Lydia for this past year, I have unfortunately seen the experience that families who have been victim to the unlawful organ retention scandal are subjected to.
“Lydia, and I’m sure many others, are understandably dismayed at the current justice system which forces grieving families to choose between finally getting their loved one’s items back from the Crown Office for burial, versus lodging a Victim’s Right for Review and pursuing justice.
“Lydia was thankfully given a concession in her case and the Crown Office agreed to transfer Gary’s items back to Lydia, whilst still leaving the option of a Victim’s Right to Review open to her.
“However, like Lydia, I am concerned that other families are being put in the same predicament and feel like they are being held to ransom.
“I am committed to helping both my constituent and other affected families across Scotland, get justice for their loved ones and hopefully gain peace through being reunited with their loved one’s remains.
“I have lodged several written questions on the unlawful organ retention scandal and also recently spoke about Lydia and Gary’s case in a Scottish Parliament debate on Victim’s Rights.
“Questions need to be answered for Lydia: why has Lydia been battling for 48 years on this issue, why have the Crown Office and Police Scotland not provided greater support for Lydia and why did it get to the point where I as an MSP had to get involved?
“I will be asking the First Minister some pressing questions about Lydia’s case and other affected families.
“Lydia has been fighting for over 40 years for her son and has helped countless other families-I am pleased that she will finally be able to lay her son to rest in what will undoubtedly be a poignant and difficult day.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
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