I will accept, as will, I think, everyone in this House, that the right hon. Gentleman has refused to answer the question again. He will not say whether that judgment was a mistake, and until he does so we cannot take what he says seriously.
The then Health Secretary, the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, joined in the refusal to have a full public inquiry. He said to The Birmingham Post on 19 March 2009,
“I really don’t think with the greatest respect that a public inquiry is going to take us any further forward”.
Will he intervene to tell me whether he will be writing to The Birmingham Post to tell people whether it has taken us any further forward? He can scowl across the Chamber, but I am afraid that that is no answer.
In the interests of accountability and transparency, we need to know why the Labour Government opposed a full public inquiry into Mid Staffordshire. Why were they so afraid of finding out the truth of what went on? Is it really so important to protect the reputation of the NHS as an institution rather than to protect the patients whom it serves and who ultimately pay for it?
There are now abounding claims and counter-claims about Stafford and Cannock hospitals as a result of the indignity of having our foundation trust abolished. One would have thought that having forced through foundation trust status and opposed a public inquiry, Labour locally would have some contrition, but sadly not. The Labour leader of my local council and Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Cannock Chase are now teaming up to
“fight plans they feel are aimed at privatising Cannock hospital.”
The leader of the council said that he was launching a petition against being
“victims of Tory privatisation plans”.
There are no plans in the Monitor report to privatise Cannock hospital, so I want to know where the local Labour party is getting its information from. In fact, as a result of the FT status, private providers are already operating in Cannock hospital. I note that there were no protests from Labour councillors when private health
facilities were introduced into Cannock hospital. Again in the interests of accountability and transparency in the NHS, I call on Labour Front Benchers to stop their parliamentary candidates and council leaders scaremongering among local people for political ends. They cannot fight privatisation if there are no plans to privatise anything. They cannot start a petition to save Cannock Chase hospital if the Monitor report suggests making it a centre of excellence for orthopaedic elective surgery in the west midlands. They cannot oppose a public inquiry and then welcome all of its findings. They cannot force through foundation trust status for its own sake rather than for what it will achieve for patients; and if someone does force it through and it has the reverse, perverse effect of causing appalling care, unnecessary deaths and the bankrupting of the trust and its abolishment just five years later, they should be man enough to apologise.
I agree that we need to be more accountable and transparent. That starts from the top with Secretaries of State and goes down to the bottom to the local council leaders and their parliamentary candidates.
3.15 pm