Trust in maternity inquiry 'totally eroded' as bereaved Leeds families deliver letter to Prime Minister

The families will hand-deliver a letter, penned by MPs for West Yorkshire, to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer today urging for his direct intervention into the inquiry into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, and call for the appointment of Donna Ockenden as Chair.

They will be accompanied to Downing Street by Leeds East MP Richard Burgon and Michelle Welsh, Labour MP for Sherwood Forest who is Chair of the APPG on Maternity and who campaigned alongside Nottingham families during their calls for a public inquiry into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Amarjit Kaur Matharoo, bereaved mum to Asees, said the families have lost faith in the Department of Health and Social Care, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, to appropriately oversee the inquiry.

“We were promised by Wes that he would speak to Donna directly before making his decision but we now know this didn’t take place so we have taken it upon ourselves to go directly to the Prime Minister to ask for this to be put in place,” Amarjit said.

“After the last meeting we had with him our trust has been totally eroded. He said one thing to us then did another and it has just left us feeling really undervalued. If anything he has compounded to the harm we have all gone through.

“As families we are really disappointed. We want to make sure that an inquiry into Leeds is done correctly and robustly, and that it gets the outcome that it needs too. We know Donna has that track record of implementing and doing real time change in trusts.”

Since the inquiry’s announcement on October 20 2025, the families have grown increasingly concerned that no suitable chair has been suggested and that the Department for Health are not honouring promises made to families about the format, scope and methodology of the inquiry.

The letter urges the Prime Minister to reverse the decision not to appoint Donna Ockenden as Chair of the inquiry and to ensure the investigation is led by someone with the independence, credibility and proven experience required.

Ms Ockenden has a proven track record of leading maternity inquiries of this scale, having chaired the Shrewsbury and Telford inquiry and is currently leading the Nottingham maternity inquiry. She is ready to chair the review if called upon.

In a statement she said: “I have made it clear on multiple occasions to the Secretary of State for Health, his officials and team, that I stand ready to Chair the review into Leeds maternity services and can begin work immediately if asked. The independent inquiry into Nottingham maternity services that I am chairing is now in its final stages, with the report due to be delivered in June.

“Over many years, my team and I have developed both the robust methodology and the deep expertise required to undertake reviews of this scale and complexity. The issues we encounter are consistent and systemic: workforce pressures, insufficient funding, gaps in training and education, and poor cultures within perinatal, maternity and neonatal services that must change to ensure safe, compassionate care.

“Every day, I speak to women, fathers and families who have experienced unacceptable failures in maternity care. I also listen carefully and speak to frontline professionals — midwives, obstetricians, neonatologists, obstetric anaesthetists and many others — who describe the pressures they are working under and the changes they know are needed.”

Families will be displaying a 10 metre long washing line holding 56 baby grows and two adult-sized t-shirts outside of 10 Downing Street.

This will represent the 56 babies and mothers who died at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, that a BBC investigation found may have been avoidable between 2019 and 2024. Families say the visual symbolises the scale of loss and the urgency for an Inquiry that delivers real accountability.

The maternity units at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's Hospital were downgraded to “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission in June 2025.

Brendan Brown, Chief Executive, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: “I do appreciate the need for families to have answers and certainty on the independent inquiry. We are committed to working openly and constructively with the independent inquiry into maternity care in Leeds and we await further details about this from the Government.

“Improving our maternity and neonatal services is our absolute priority, and we are moving forward with our improvement plan, to ensure every family receives safe, compassionate, inclusive, and high-quality care here in Leeds.

“We want to work with the families who have used our services to understand their experiences so we can make real and lasting improvements.”

In the letter, the MPs state that:

• Families were repeatedly assured that their views would be central to the inquiry process, including on the appointment of the Chair.
• Donna Ockenden is the only individual with a proven track record of leading maternity inquiries of this scale, having chaired the Shrewsbury and Telford inquiry and currently leading the Nottingham maternity inquiry.
• Promises made by the Secretary of State to families, including to speak directly with Donna Ockenden before making a decision, were not honoured.
• Announcing key decisions through the media, rather than directly to families, has caused further distress and eroded trust.
• Appointing a Chair without a tested maternity inquiry methodology would risk delay, loss of confidence and further harm to families.
• The inquiry must have leadership trusted by families and frontline staff from the outset if it is to deliver real accountability and change.
• Given the seriousness of the failings at Leeds, the Prime Minister’s direct intervention is now required.