THOUSANDS of unmarried women forced to give their babies up for adoption must get an apology from the Scottish Government, says a prominent politician.

Monica Lennon MSP - who raised the case of Paisley woman Marion McMillan at Holyrood - says that she is one of 60,000 women who deserve a long overdue 'sorry' from the Parliament.

Marion was separated from her baby as a young unmarried mother and has campaigned for Scotland to follow Australia and Ireland in issuing a formal acknowledgment.

As members of the Scottish Parliament debated the lingering injustice, the politician read out a statement on behalf of terminally ill Marion, whose son was taken from a mother and baby home in 1967.

She said: “I sincerely hope that Scotland will finally take the opportunity to make an official apology to the vulnerable mothers who had their babies taken from them simply because they were not married.

“What happened was a dreadful abuse of our human rights and set in motion lifelong pains and psychological damage to the women and children.

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“Mothers spent their lives searching for the babies they were forced to hand over. I remember crying and telling the authorities my baby already had a mummy. But they simply took my son from my arms and left me weeping."

Glasgow Times:

Ms Lennon continued: “Our children suffered too. They had no choice in what happened to them. Many were left deeply scarred, told their mother did not want them or their mother was dead.

“Those policies condemned many to a lifetime searching for who they are.”

Marion has asked the Scottish Government for almost eight years to make an official apology for the abuses of the past.

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Ms Lennon, Labour MSP for Central Scotland, described the ordeals as “cruel” - and challenged Nicola Sturgeon to issue a formal apology.

The First Minister replied: “I have expressed my huge sympathy with calls for a formal apology. I have also rightly talked about the legal complexities that Government has to work through. We are actively considering a conclusion that would work right now.

“I am very hopeful of being able to give an indication of the outcome of that work while I am still First Minister.”

Ms Lennon added: “It’s hard to find the words to describe the cruelty of historic forced adoption.

“I welcome the personal commitment from Nicola Sturgeon and hope that the parliamentary timetable will allow as many people as possible to witness this important action.”