Mick Martin, Managing Director at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said:
The Morecambe Bay Investigation report revealed significant failings in care and treatment and we sympathise with the families who lost loved ones.
'We fully support the report and agree with the findings. Dr Kirkup has provided a comprehensive account of the failings at Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. We will carefully study the report as part of our commitment to listen and learn and improve our service.
'Our own investigations, published last year echoed Dr Kirkup's findings. We found a lack of openness and transparency by the Trust and identified a potential conflict of interest between midwifery supervision and regulation and have since been calling for changes in legislation.
'The Morecambe Bay Investigation report had access to more evidence, including a range of interviews and over 15,000 documents from 22 organisations and therefore it's not surprising that he reached different conclusions. We welcome Dr Kirkup's recommendation for a national protocol setting out the duties of all Trusts and their staff in relation to inquests.'