Bereaved families demand 'wholly discredited' maternity investigation is withdrawn and call on new health secretary to scrap taskforce

By CLAIRE DUFFIN, SENIOR REPORTER Published: 19:33, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 19:35, 2 July 2026 A long-awaited government review into maternity failures was slammed by victims last night who branded it 'superficial' and lacking any credibility. Families said Baroness Valerie Amos' report into maternity and neonatal care at 12 NHS trusts ignored victims and 'cherry picked' evidence to suit existing agendas. It was now 'wholly discredited' and should be scrapped, they said in a damning letter to Health Secretary James Murray. Amos' report found maternity units were 'not fit for purpose' with filthy, crumbling hospitals leaving mothers suffering unsafe and undignified care. Pregnant women described blood-stained toilets and showers, dirty beds and wards infested with insects and mould, as midwives warn that leaks, faulty equipment and other 'safety hazards' distract them from their work, while a lack of beds and cots distorts decision-making. The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation made a series of recommendations but families said it should now be withdrawn and the Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce disbanded immediately over their concerns. Baroness Amos (left) says Dr Bill Kirkup (right) quit the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation after concerns it had watered down how 'normal birth ideology' played a role in unavoidable deaths and injuries Emily Barley whose daughter Beatrice died due to failings at Barnsley Hospital It comes after it emerged Baroness Amos altered the final report to remove criticism of 'normal birth ideology' - prompting the resignation of one of the review team.  The report has also been criticised for referring to 'birthing people' instead of just 'women'. Campaigners said only women can get pregnant and give birth, and 'unscientific jargon' that pretends otherwise adds 'insult to injury' for families affected by care scandals. Dr Bill Kirkup, a widely respected expert in childbirth safety, resigned as one of the 12 expert clinical advisers to Lady Amos's nine-month-long review before publication of its report on Monday.  He quit over claims Lady Amos had downplayed how 'normal birth ideology' had played a role in avoidable deaths and injuries. Advocates of normal birth, including many midwives, believe women giving birth should do so as far as possible vaginally, and without drugs or medical interventions such as the use of forceps or delivering the baby by caesarean section.  But a string of investigations into maternity failings over the years has found pursuing a 'normal birth at any cost' led to babies and mothers dying and suffering harm. Dr Kirkup said the methodology and rapid turnaround of the Amos report in the space of a year, meant it could never properly assess whether the pursuit of 'normal birth' remained a patient safety risk and warnings that this approach posed a risk to patient safety should not have been removed.  He said not only was evidence of this ideology found by the investigation team, but that it was included in a previously agreed draft of the report, later changed by Baroness Amos as a result of influence 'by unnamed others'. The letter from the Maternity Safety Alliance, a group made up of bereaved parents and those affected by failings in maternity care, said they had warned the 'investigation was the wrong format, would not go into the depth necessary to make progress, and would not be truly independent' and had 'now been proved right'. 'Baroness Amos's report is superficial, its recommendations are not supported by its content, and the voices of victims have been disregarded and minimised,' they said. 'The report is so inadequate that it does not even mention many of the serious and avoidable types of harm caused by failings in NHS maternity care. 'This cannot be allowed to stand. It is clear to us that this investigation was never independent and has been improperly influenced. It has cherry picked its evidence to suit existing agendas, and ignored the very people it was intended to serve - victims.' They called on the health secretary to immediately disband the 'corrupt' taskforce and said the report should be pulled and should not form any part of maternity policy going forward. They concluded: 'Time and again we as victims of NHS maternity services have sounded the alarm on a local and national level. 'We have been repeatedly treated as conspiracy theorists for pointing to cover ups, and dismissed as 'grieving and emotional' when we set out our considered criticisms. And we have been repeatedly proved correct - on every single point, for a decade. 'We ask you to be the first Secretary of State to listen to us when we sound the alarm rather than waiting for us to be proved correct in time, when our ranks will be devastatingly and inevitably swelled by the families of yet more dead mothers and babies, and yet more injured children and mothers.' Maternal deaths are now at a 20-year high, despite a succession of scandals across the country and 59 major reports in the decade to 2023. The NHS now spends as much on legal claims for maternity blunders as it spends on maternity care. Emily Barley, co-founder of the Maternity Safety Alliance whose daughter Beatrice died in 2022 due to failings in maternity care, said: 'We were promised that this investigation would be independent but it's now clear that Baroness Amos has been steered by special interests rather than the evidence.  'At the same time, she has ignored huge parts of the maternity care system, in particular choosing not to scrutinise the regulators who are ultimately responsible for ensuring safety.  'The final report has also excluded the experiences of many of the harmed and bereaved families who bared their souls to Amos and her team. The report is not fit for purpose and should be withdrawn.'  The Department of Health did not respond.   No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. 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