Michael Payne

Today’s publication of Donna Ockenden’s report into maternity services in Nottinghamshire is a difficult and deeply emotional moment for families across our county and city. I want to place on the record my thanks to Donna Ockenden and her outstanding team for the care, compassion and thoroughness with which they have exposed the devastating cases of these families. Let me also place on the record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh). She is a fearless and formidable campaigner for justice and has walked this journey with the families every step of the way, and I know just how proud her son Billy will be watching her from home today. My thoughts are first and foremost with the families whose lives have been changed forever by the loss of their babies, and the mothers who should have received safe care but were harmed. Behind every page of this report are families who have endured unimaginable grief and who have spent years fighting simply to have their voices heard. I pay tribute to their courage, dignity and determination. In the face of heartbreak, they refused to be silenced. They fought not only for answers about their loved ones, but to ensure that other families would not suffer the same pain. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that he will consider all options available to deliver justice and accountability for those families who have waited far too long for answers? Will he assure me and the whole House that the lessons identified in the report will be fully implemented and embedded throughout maternity services in Nottinghamshire and around the United Kingdom, so that no family has to endure what far too many families have already endured?