Families welcome appointment of Donna Ockenden to Leeds maternity inquiry

Campaigners say Wes Streeting's decision to name senior midwife as chair will begin to restore trust

Families who lost babies at two hospitals in Leeds have said they are slowly regaining trust in the health secretary after the midwife Donna Ockenden was appointed to lead a review into the failing service, where 56 babies and two mothers died in five years.

Ockenden, who conducted a similar review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford hospital NHS trust in 2020, was chosen to lead the investigation into Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust after a campaign by the families.