Lead Campaigners Meet Health Secretary to Express Concerns about Lampard Inquiry

Bereaved families in the Lampard Inquiry today met Health Secretary Wes Streeting to ask him to help deliver justice for their loved ones.

Melanie Leahy, Julia Hopper and their legal team from Hodge Jones & Allen called on Mr Streeting to step in to ensure the statutory inquiry into more than 2,000 deaths in Essex prevents more unnecessary loss of life.

Melanie and Julia requested the meeting as they feel that the voices of the bereaved are not being heard at the inquiry, the issue of ongoing deaths is not being tackled and some grieving families have been told they cannot be core participants.

The families and their legal team asked Mr Streeting for regular meetings to ensure these ongoing concerns are addressed.

Mr Streeting listened to the families’ concerns and assured them that he had taken them on board. He said he would hold a further meeting with the families.

The Lampard Inquiry was set up after ten years of campaigning by Melanie Leahy, who lost her son Matthew, and Julia Hopper, who lost her son Christopher, both while in the care of mental health services in Essex.

Julia said: “Inquiries in the past haven’t delivered meaningful change but is crucial that this one does. Deaths are ongoing, we are tripping over dead bodies, and it has to stop. This is our younger generation.

“It is essential Mr Streeting steps in to ensure the inquiry delivers what we need, which is the prevention of more needless loss of life and get some semblance of justice for our loved ones.”
Melanie said: “Having fought so hard to get this inquiry with the hope of establishing the truth of how my son died whilst meant to be safe, I’m praying that the inquiry serves its purpose and leads to the truth, justice and accountability that we all crave.

“We are calling on the Secretary of State Wes Streeting and the Health Secretary Gillian Merron to ensure that happens.”

Priya Singh, partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, who represents more than 150 victims and families, said: “It is representative of how desperately the families feel that they needed to go to the very top to express their concerns about what has happened so far at the inquiry.

“We were promised that the families would be at the heart of the inquiry but they feel like they are being ignored while others are being excluded altogether.

“All we and the families have ever wanted is to work together with the inquiry to get the truth and justice for the families and to help ensure the terrible mistakes of the past are not repeated. We are grateful to the Secretary of State for meeting us in what was a productive meeting and look forward to meeting him again to discuss progress.”