Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon has welcomed the appointment of Judge John Potter to chair the statutory public inquiry into mental health care at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV).
Judge Potter was appointed by the Government on 17 September, after months of campaigning by families affected by the Trust and pressure from MPs, including Mr Gordon.
The inquiry formally began on 21 September and will examine serious failings in mental health care at TEWV, which provides mental health services across North Yorkshire, including for people in the Harrogate and Knaresborough area.
The Government announced the statutory inquiry in December 2025 following concerns about the deaths of mental health patients and wider failures in care. It said the inquiry would establish what happened, why failings occurred and what needs to change to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality care.
TEWV has said it will cooperate fully with the inquiry and has acknowledged the significance of the process for families and loved ones affected.
Pressure to appoint a chair
Mr Gordon had previously pressed ministers to appoint an inquiry chair without further delay.
During a House of Commons debate on 4 June, he raised concerns that the chair had not yet been appointed and warned that the inquiry could be lost amid wider changes to the healthcare system.
He called on the Health Secretary to get a chair in place as soon as possible.
Now that Judge Potter has been appointed, the inquiry is expected to begin the process of hearing from those affected. The Government said the inquiry would give survivors and families the opportunity to be heard and help drive improvements in mental health care.
Families have campaigned for answers
The inquiry follows years of campaigning by families whose loved ones died while receiving care from TEWV.
Among the cases that have received significant attention are those of Christie Harnett, Nadia Sharif and Emily Moore. An independent investigation into the care of Christie Harnett found 22 recommendations for improvement, while wider reporting on the three cases identified 120 failings in their care.
The Government’s decision to establish a statutory inquiry followed meetings between the Health Secretary and families who had lost loved ones under the Trust’s care. In announcing the inquiry in December 2025, the Government said there had been concerns about a lack of transparency around some incidents and that previous improvements had not gone far enough.
For families, the inquiry represents an opportunity to examine the wider systems and decisions surrounding care, rather than focusing solely on individual incidents.
Tom Gordon: families deserve answers
Tom Gordon MP:
This is welcome news, and it is long overdue. Families who lost loved ones, and patients who were badly let down by TEWV, have waited far too long for this inquiry to get going.
I called for this inquiry and then kept pressing the Government to appoint a chair, because families deserve answers, not more delay. I’m glad ministers have finally acted.
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 they 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.
Who is Judge John Potter?
His Honour Judge Roderick John Conwy Potter is a retired Circuit Judge and former Deputy Judge of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal.
He was appointed chair of the TEWV inquiry by the Department of Health and Social Care on 17 September 2026.
The appointment is intended to allow the inquiry to move forward after the Government announced its creation nine months earlier.
TEWV has said it will cooperate fully with the inquiry, with the Trust stating that it will approach the process with “honesty, openness and humility”.
The inquiry will now be responsible for examining the evidence and establishing what happened, why the failings occurred and what lessons need to be learned.