THE PARENTS of the nine children involved in the Orkney inquiry last

night tried to stop the BBC from using tape recordings of interviews

with the children when they were on the mainland.

They were seeking an interim interdict at the Court of Session to

prevent use of the extracts in a forthcoming Panorama television

programme.

However, the action was temporarily halted after both sides agreed the

hearing should go ahead next Tuesday. The BBC gave an undertaking not to

refer to, or broadcast in any form, any material from tapes of

interviews which referred to any of the children before the hearing took

place.

Taped interviews were carried out by police officers and social

workers from the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to

Children while the children were the subject of place of safety orders

on the mainland.

The parents from the four families claimed that some tapes had come

into the possession of the BBC which planned to use extracts in the

Panoroma programme. It was not known if these involved any of the nine

children or the children of the W family whose allegations led to the

children being taken into care.

The parents argued that broadcast of any such tapes would lead to the

identification of the nine children.

All nine children and their parents had been receiving psychiatric

treatment following the release of the children and their return home in

April last year. It was possible that they would be further traumatised

as a result of tapes being broadcast.

The action before Lord Coulsfield opened with brief submissions over

the possibility of material being used for trailers in advance of the

programme. Mr Nigel Morrison, QC for the parents, said he was satisfied

with the undertaking from the BBC not to broadcast material before next

week's hearing.