Coatbridge couple attend Downing Street Burns celebrations

Julie, 42, and Bryan Morrison, 50, from Coatbridge, were asked to attend Number 10 as recognition for their outstanding charity work.

We previously reported how the pair launched their Baby Loss Retreat charity in 2018 as a lifeline to grieving parents after losing their own baby girl, Erin.

Now five years later they have met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who thanked them for all their hard work.

During their visit on Wednesday, January 25 they attended Robert Burns celebrations which included Scottish food and drinks.

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Bryan told the Glasgow Times: “When we first got the invite we didn’t believe it, you just don’t expect that at all.

“After confirming it was real we were absolutely delighted, it is great recognition for everything we have done the last five years.

“We are quite overwhelmed by the experience, Rishi and his wife thanked us for all the hard work we do.

“Julie works seven days a week with the charity and it can be stressful, especially since we have lived the experience of baby loss ourselves.

“Things like this really make us feel appreciated and it gives recognition, it is very humbling.

“It was a Burns Night so we had haggis, salmon, and there were local gin producers, it was a really nice event.”

We previously reported how Julie was inspired to start the charity after being caught up in the baby ashes scandal which shocked Scotland.

She was horrified to discover her daughter, who had been born stillborn in 2003, had her ashes abandoned in a funeral parlour cupboard for 13 years without her knowledge.

After finding out she then lost her job and fell into a depression, before deciding to dedicate her life to getting others the help she was never given.

The scandal revealed that staff at crematoriums in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy disposed of the ashes of babies and then falsely told grieving parents there were not enough remains to return to them.

It is thought as many as 450 families were affected by the practice across Scotland.

Julie previously told the Glasgow Times: “We always ask parents if they have received their baby’s ashes, when you are grieving you just don’t know what questions to ask so we help guide them.

“I was in a really bad way when I lost Erin, I had postnatal depression and just no help.

“I had a real lack of support when leaving the hospital, so I want to help families by giving them the help I didn’t have.

“Our charity offers a different variety of things. I do a one-on-one chat with the person to see what exactly they need.”

Baby Loss Retreat charity has a shop in Airdrie which is looking for volunteers and fundraisers.