Tom Gordon MP Hails Landmark Decision to Launch Public Inquiry into TEWV “A Huge Victory for Families”

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has welcomed the Government’s decision to launch a full statutory public inquiry into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), describing it as “a huge and long-overdue victory for
families who have battled for years for truth, justice and accountability.”

The announcement was made today during a meeting between MPs, bereaved families, affected patients, and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting.

Since entering Parliament, Tom has made the systemic failures at TEWV one of his top priorities. At Health Questions in January, he formally put the Trust’s record of serious failings on the parliamentary record and urged ministers to recognise the scale of the crisis.

He then used his first Prime Minister’s Question to challenge the Prime Minister directly, warning that TEWV’s problems were not isolated incidents or historic, but on going systemic failures.

Tom has worked closely with constituents whose lives have been shattered by those failures, including families who have tragically lost loved ones while under the Trust’s care, and others still fighting to be heard.

Alongside his interventions in the Commons, Tom has maintained pressure through letters to ministers, cross-party collaboration with MPs representing other affected constituencies, and a coordinated call to the Prime Minister for urgent action.

While welcoming today’s breakthrough, Tom stressed that families cannot be made to wait years for improvements while the inquiry completes its work.

Commenting, Tom said:
“Today’s announcement is a landmark moment, a huge victory for the families who have fought with extraordinary courage, determination and dignity for justice. Many of them have endured devastating loss, and their persistence is the reason the Government has finally taken this step.”

“I strongly welcome this full public inquiry, but it cannot be an excuse to delay action. People are still receiving care from this Trust today. Immediate steps are needed to protect patients and begin rebuilding trust.”

“I will continue to work alongside the families and constituents I have met whose lives have been so deeply affected. We must ensure that lessons are finally learned and that such tragic and systemic failures can never happen again.”