'Families have lost trust over maternity inquiry'

Families failed by maternity care at an NHS trust have "lost trust" in the health secretary to oversee an independent inquiry, MPs have said.

Wes Streeting announced an inquiry into "repeated failures" after a BBC investigation revealed the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTH) over the past five years may have been prevented.

MPs have written a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling on him to intervene and appoint senior midwife Donna Ockenden to chair the investigation.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "We are actively working with families in Leeds to appoint a chair and agree terms of reference for this vital review."

Ockenden is currently leading the inquiry into Nottingham maternity services - which is examining about 2,500 cases of failings - and she previously investigated failures at the Shrewsbury and Telford Trust.

Streeting said in October 2025 a thorough "Nottingham-style" investigation was required to understand what had "gone so catastrophically wrong" at Leeds' two maternity units.

But he subsequently announced publicly on a BBC Radio interview that Ockenden would not chair the inquiry at Leeds.

The letter, seen by the BBC, has been signed by three Labour MPs including Fabian Hamilton, Richard Burgon and Michelle Welsh – who is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for maternity - as well as the Conservative MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke and the independent MP Iqbal Mohamed.

It says Leeds bereaved and harmed families feel the public announcement "is nothing less than a complete betrayal of their trust" because families say Streeting had promised he would speak with Ockenden, and them first, before any news would be made public.

The letter adds it would be "unacceptable" to appoint a chair who has "an untested and unrefined methodology".

The MPs call on Starmer to "intervene and appoint Donna Ockenden to head the Leeds Maternity Inquiry, with immediate effect".

The letter also states that "Leeds families have lost faith and confidence in the Secretary of State for Health's handling of this inquiry".

A copy of the letter will be hand-delivered to Downing Street by families later.

They include Fiona Winser-Ramm and Dan Ramm whose daughter Aliona died in January 2020 at Leeds General Infirmary.

An inquest found "a number of gross failures" that "directly contributed" to her death.

"Families cannot trust this inquiry to an unproven process as it is too important to fail, yet we won't get a second chance," Winser-Ramm said.

"When we've met with the secretary of state, he is often saying the right things to us, but it isn't translating into what is proposed for the inquiry by the Department of Health."

Another bereaved Leeds parent, Lauren Caulfield, added: "Given the size and scale of failings at Leeds, for this inquiry to be successful it needs someone who understands systematic failures, is trusted by families and staff and is capable of holding a large NHS trust to account."

Bereaved parents Amarjit Kaur and Mandip Singh Matharoo, whose baby Asees was stillborn on 6 January 2024, added Streeting had "broken their trust".

"There needs to be an open, honest inquiry which allows learning to be implemented right away as the inquiry is happening," Kaur said.

"We can't have a chair who lacks experience in this area.

"We need justice for Asees and all those babies harmed or not here today."

The BBC's investigation featured testimony from whistleblowers who claimed the maternity units at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's Hospital were unsafe, despite being rated "good" by the Care Quality Commission watchdog at the time.

The units were downgraded to "inadequate" in June 2025.

LTH previously said it was "taking significant steps to address improvements".

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Every family who has lost a baby deserves answers, and we are determined to ensure they get them.

"No-one should experience substandard maternity care, and this government will not rest until women, babies and families get the care they need, in Leeds and beyond.

"We're taking urgent action to improve maternity services across the country - investing over £130m to make units safer, rolling out programmes to reduce avoidable brain injury and piloting Martha's Rule in maternity services."

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