Esther Robertson’s Trailblazing Podcast - Unique Contribution to Campaign for Formal Apology for Historic Forced Adoption

That the Parliament congratulates Esther Robertson on the successful launch of Looking for Esther, an eight-part Spotify Original podcast written and produced by Esther’s partner, Gayle Anderson, in association with The Big Light studios in Glasgow; believes that the remarkable story of Esther Robertson’s search for answers on her birth parents, background and identity over a 50-year period raises vital insight and awareness of historical forced adoption practices, which it understands resulted in up to 250,000 mothers in the UK being separated from their babies; understands that it is estimated that 60,000 of the women affected lived in Scotland, including Esther’s mother, Ann Bruce Lindenberg, who gave birth to her at the Woodlands Children’s Home in 1961; commends Esther on her courageous and tenacious attempts to track and discover her past, which she has continued following a diagnosis of stage 4 ovarian cancer in 2018; considers that Looking for Esther shines a light on many taboo subjects, including reflections from Esther who describes herself as a mixed-race black girl growing up in a white adoptive family during the 1960-70s period; notes that, having secured cross-party support, Members' Business motion S6M-00138 was debated in the Scottish Parliament on 16 June 2021, condemning the historical practice of forced adoption, and noting calls for the UK and Scottish governments to follow the example set by the Australian Government in 2013 in acknowledging to the public through a formal apology that there had been wrongdoings and making support available to women and families who have had to live with the consequences, and believes that Looking for Esther advances the compelling and urgent case for the First Minister to make a formal apology for past adoption practices on behalf of the Scottish Government, accelerate the provision of specialist support, and improve access to adoption records.