Margaret Fleming: Significant Case Review published

The Significant Case Review (SCR) was commissioned by the Adult Protection Committee and Child Protection Committee to examine the role of all the agencies involved in Margaret’s life.

The report comes days after Margaret's murderer Eddie Cairney - who was convicted alongside Avril Jones in 2019 - died in custody, having never disclosed what he did with her body.

The inquiry was led by Professor Jean MacLellan OBE, who spoke with more than 100 people – including friends and family of Margaret.

Prof MacLellan’s review has set out a number of recommendations for all agencies to consider and look to implement.

These include improvements surrounding communication and sharing information timeously to ensure vulnerable people are protected.

The review, titled 'Remember My Name', also states that expansion of annual health checks for adults with learning disabilities should be considered.

READ MORE: Margaret Fleming's murderer Eddie Cairney dies aged 82

Difficulties with transitions from school to higher education were highlighted during the inquiry, with colleges and universities being encouraged to have ‘robust adult protection guidance’.

The review also concluded that Margaret should be remembered – and that Inverclyde Council should consider how this can be done in a manner which is respectful to her family.

Prof MacLellan said: “For many of us, what we know of Margaret’s life is what was covered in the televised trial and subsequent media coverage of her murder which, by its nature, highlighted the trauma of her experience.

“This review had a different emphasis. It was to understand what we could about who she was and what the agencies that had been involved with her and her family had offered.

“Inverclyde recognised the challenges of doing this well given that so many years had passed since Margaret died, so it was agreed that an Appreciative Inquiry approach would be adopted.

“This meant that staff committed to being active in finding any records relating to Margaret.

“The disciplines spoke freely to each other about what they found. It was openly acknowledged what could be improved and staff have set about doing so well in advance of the publication of this report.

“Readers can access much of this material on a dedicated website for training and learning purposes.

"My role has not been a top down, external, one but as part of this dedicated team. I am grateful to them all. This approach has much to commend it.

“Like others, I would like to thank Margaret’s mother whom I have come to know well. She is a private individual who is entitled to remain so.

“She has co-operated wholeheartedly with the review and will be forever impacted by her daughter’s death.

“I would also like to thank Margaret’s father’s fiancée and her daughter for their substantial contribution to our collective understanding.

“My last comments relate to the many people with learning disabilities and carers, locally and across Scotland, who participated in the review.

“Their testimony appears in detail on the website too and vividly describes life in Scotland now.

“This aspect is Margaret’s legacy and is for the Margarets of today and the Margarets of the future.”

Alex Davidson, chair of the Adult Protection Committee, added: “It is now up to each agency to consider the findings and take those forward but what is clear to me from the review is that agencies need to talk across the fence to each other when it comes to partnership working and information sharing to ensure vulnerable people are seen in person while respecting their right to privacy.

“See something, say something.

“If something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t and there should be a multi-agency response to that.

“The same applies to society in general and we have a collective responsibility to look out for each other and speak up if something doesn’t seem right.”

The final report will be sent to the Care Inspectorate, which evaluates all SCRs and reports publicly on their findings.