A WOMAN who has been on an agonising search for the truth of the fate of her baby girl she believes was stolen at birth in a Spanish hospital almost 23 years ago has presented her case to the European Parliament.

Ruth Appleby, from Colburn, appeared before a petition committee hearing in Brussels to ask for her case to be officially investigated – and gained a small victory when the committee recommended full support from the EU Parliament.

Mrs Appleby’s baby Rebecca was born by caesarean in La Coruna in northern Spain on December 3, 1992, but Mrs Appleby woke from her general anaesthetic her husband had to tell her their baby had died.

Years later, after a move back to North Yorkshire, Mrs Appleby discovered hundreds of child abduction cases were coming to light in Spain and recognised similarities in the circumstances to her own experience.

At the Brussels hearing, Mrs Appleby gave a passionate plea to the committee to keep her case open and have it investigated.

She said: “An Interpol investigation took just three weeks – I was shocked to learn it had been based solely on hospital reports provided by the hospital which was under investigation.

“Noone was interviewed. I received a copy of the report and found more than 150 discrepancies - for example there were four different times of death.”

Mrs Appleby had to hire a Spanish lawyer to attend Spanish courts on her behalf, but the petitions committee hearing was the first action taken since recognition by the European Union in 2013 that there was a case to investigate.

She has been supported by MEPs for Yorkshire and Humberside Jude Kirton-Darling and Richard Corbett, with Ms Kirton-Darling demanding a Europe-wide investigation.

The committee has recommended the EU Parliament throws its weight behind the case, calling for a full criminal investigation and transparency from the Spanish Government and relevant authorities.

Mrs Appleby said: "Being in the European Parliament, presenting my case personally, was so important.

"The authorities should be making every effort to discover how many children were taken and be positively seeking to reunite them with their biological families.

"I am relieved to learn the petitions committee is prepared to act, after all these years of not knowing the truth.”

"Across Europe, a strong, bright light should be kept shining so there is nowhere to hide. We as Europeans should join together to find every one of our children who have been taken - we want them back, now."

For more information on Mrs Appleby’s story, visit www.onelonelyvoice.co.uk.