Harrogate MP welcomes long-awaited appointment of chair to TEWV public inquiry by Government

The Liberal Democrat MP began pushing for a statutory inquiry into TEWV, which provides mental health services to people in Harrogate and Knaresborough, after hearing growing numbers of distressing accounts from people in his constituency failed by the trust, including families who had tragically lost loved ones while under its care.

After the inquiry was announced in December 2025, he kept pressing ministers to appoint a chair without delay.

In the House of Commons in June, he warned that a chair "was meant already to be in place".

He raised concerns that the inquiry could be "lost amid all the changes to the healthcare system" and urged the Health Secretary to "get a chair in place as soon as possible."

The Government has now announced the appointment of John Potter, a retired Circuit Judge and former Deputy Judge of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal.

Tom Gordon MP said: "I'm glad ministers have finally acted.

"I called for this inquiry and then kept pressing them to appoint a chair, because families deserve answers, not more delay.

"It's right that Judge Potter has promised to put the voices of patients, survivors and families at the heart of this work.

"They must shape the terms of reference and must be listened to at every stage.

"The job now is to find out what went wrong and why and to make sure no family goes through this again.

"I will keep holding the Government to account until that happens, for my constituents and for everyone TEWV serves."

The inquiry’s statutory nature gives it full legal powers, requiring evidence to be given under oath and the Trust to provide legal documentation.

Judge Potter has said his first priority would be to meet and listen to those affected.

The inquiry was launched in December 2025 and formally began in September 21, 2026.