An inquiry to establish if other crematoriums have secretly buried the ashes of babies could be "helpful", a councillor has said.
Lesley Hinds, environment convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, spoke out in the wake of the revelations that, for 45 years, a city crematorium buried the ashes of youngsters who were either stillborn or who were just days old when they died, without telling their parents.
An initial investigation into what happened at the council-owned Mortonhall Crematorium suggested the practice could have happened more widely across Scotland.
Affected parents have now called for a public inquiry to be held.
David Henderson, whose daughter Sophie was stillborn 14 years ago, said the revelations had "opened up old wounds". He told BBC Radio Scotland: "We just want the council to be open and honest with us and give us the truth as to why this happened - who took the decisions at the time, why this came about.
"We just don't think that honesty is going to come from an internal investigation, it has to be done as a public inquiry by an outside agency coming in and doing it thoroughly."
Ms Hinds said that since the end of November, when details of what happened at the crematorium emerged, the council had set up an initial inquiry, which is due to report back next week. As part of that, records from the crematorium are being examined by independent auditors, she said.
Meanwhile, a report, to be considered by the council on Tuesday recommends that an independent person be appointed to complete the inquiry.
Ms Hinds told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We are, I feel, trying to be as open and honest as possible, and by appointing an independent person to carry on the inquiry I hope that will give some reassurance to the parents."
When asked if she wanted there to be a public inquiry into the matter, she said that was a decision for the Scottish Government, not the council, to make. But she added: "I think the practices that happened in crematoriums throughout Scotland, some of the initial inquiry points to different practices throughout Scotland, so I think an inquiry of some sort, whether it is a public inquiry, an investigation by a committee within the Scottish Parliament, I think would be helpful for parents in other areas throughout Scotland."
