EDINBURGH (SCOTLAND)
Sunday Post

December 3, 2017

By Gordon Blackstock

After waiting years to be heard, the children of Smyllum tell their heartbreaking stories

They had waited a long time to be heard.

But in this nondescript office block, as commuters rushed by outside, they would speak at last.

And, finally, after all those years, these adults, who were once children in Scotland’s care homes, would tell their stories. Stories of neglect, of cruelty, of abuse and of murder.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry started its second phase in Edinburgh last week as judge Lady Smith, pictured, turned her attention to Smyllum Park children’s home in Lanarkshire, the orphanage where, as we revealed in September, up to 400 children are buried in an unmarked grave.

The hearings were harrowing for those who gave evidence and those who heard it. It was often heart-breaking.

Some in the seats open to…