'Abuse' parents sue for pounds 1m

FOUR FAMILIES at the centre of the Orkney child abuse scandal are suing the islands' council for pounds 1m over the affair. The parents, from South Ronaldsay, are seeking damages for post-traumatic stress.

Their nine children were taken into care in dawn raids in 1991 by officials investigating accusations of 'ritualistic and satanic' abuse. None of the parents was charged and the children were returned to their homes after a five-week police investigation. David Lyons, the families' solicitor, said yesterday: 'The parents' reputations were damaged and they suffered greatly because they were denied access to their children.'