SCOTLAND
The Sunday Post
September 9, 2018
By Gordon Blackstock
NUNS who ran Smyllum Park orphanage spent nearly £300,000 on legal fees at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry – more than the maximum amount of compensation its alleged victims could receive for a lifetime of suffering.
The running of two Daughters of Charity children’s homes was examined as part of a case study at the inquiry between November 28, 2017 and January 20 this year.
And newly-released accounts show how the order racked up £287,000 in “professional fees” connected to the Edinburgh hearings.
The organisation has been represented by solicitor advocate Gregor Rolfe, of Glasgow’s Clyde & Co.
Legal insiders say the rate for counsel is negotiable but is normally around £2,000 per day.
The bill only covers costs to the charity in 2017, including nine days of evidence about abuse allegations at Smyllum Park home in Lanark and Bellevue House in Rutherglen.
That equates to almost £32,000 per day.
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