First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 2 October 2025.
Fulton MacGregor
Scottish National Party
The First Minister will be aware of reports this week that new information has emerged in the case of Moira Anderson, who disappeared in Coatbridge in 1957, aged just 11. It is reported that the new information is credible and suggests that Moira’s remains could be in an old mineshaft in the town.
Will the First Minister join me, as well as Sandra Brown OBE, founder of the Moira Anderson Foundation, in urging Police Scotland to continue to follow up on all leads, including this latest one? I know that the First Minister will share my hope that, one day, Moira will be located, bringing long-overdue peace for her, her family and the whole Monklands community, who have borne this tragedy down several generations for nearly 70 years.
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
I am aware of the reports that Mr MacGregor raises with me. At the outset of my answer, I express my sympathies to the family of Moira Anderson and congratulate those who are involved in the Moira Anderson Foundation, which is a wonderful organisation, and especially Sandra Brown, who gives such exemplary leadership to its activity. Sandra Brown and her colleagues have never lost their determination to solve the case of Moira Anderson’s disappearance.
I cannot comment on operational policing matters, but I am aware that Police Scotland has stated that any new information that it receives relating to the case will be fully assessed and investigated. It is an absolute priority for us to ensure that unresolved homicides are addressed. Those cases are never closed. As we have seen in recent years, the success of Police Scotland in investigating and resolving some of those cases has brought peace to many individuals who have had to live with the torment of losing a loved one. I hope dearly that that can be the case in relation to Moira Anderson.
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