OPINION: Harrogate MP Tom Gordon says public inquiry into mental health trust is a watershed moment

At last, there is the promise of real scrutiny and accountability after years in which warnings about patient safety, governance failures, and preventable deaths were ignored or brushed aside with superficial reviews.

For more than 40 families who lost loved ones under TEWV’s care, this is not just another government announcement – it is a watershed moment. These families have carried the weight of unanswered questions and unresolved grief, living with the devastating truth that the mental health system entrusted with their loved ones failed them. They have fought tirelessly for justice, often against resistance and silence. For the first time, there is hope for truth, accountability, and lasting reform.

Among those failed by the trust are local families, devastated by preventable losses and still fighting to have their voices heard. I have sat with these families, listened to their stories, and taken their concerns and experiences to Parliament.

Those conversations exposed the scale of the crisis: patients from Harrogate are travelling hundreds of miles, sometimes as far as Southampton, for a mental health bed. Vulnerable people are torn from their communities and isolated from family at the moment they need them most. These stories reveal a system fundamentally broken, failing to provide even the basics.

Every conversation carried one clear message: only a full public inquiry can deliver the accountability families deserve. Previous investigations have repeatedly fallen short – lacking transparency, independence, and the power to compel evidence. Families rightly argue that only such an inquiry can expose the truth, uncover systemic failings, and ensure lessons are learned to prevent future tragedies.

That is why this announcement matters. Unlike past reviews, a statutory inquiry has real teeth: the legal authority to compel witnesses under oath and demand full disclosure of documents. For families who have fought years to be heard, this is more than a procedural step, it’s a genuine chance for truth and change.

Since entering Parliament, I’ve made this fight a top priority. After hearing first-hand accounts from local families, I put TEWV’s serious failings on the Parliamentary record and used my first Prime Minister’s Question to warn the PM these were not isolated or historic issues, but ongoing systematic failures. I made clear that only a full inquiry could put things right, then worked across party lines to build pressure on the Health Secretary to secure this vital step.

But from the outset, I have also been clear that an inquiry must never become an excuse for delay. People are receiving care from this trust today, and the risks are immediate. While uncovering the truth and driving long-term reform is essential, urgent action cannot wait.

This inquiry is not the end, it is the beginning of that work. I will stand with constituents and others affected every step of the way until the truth is uncovered and reform delivered. Together, we can build a system that protects the vulnerable, restores trust, and ensures these failures are never repeated.