Neale inquiry the only option
Comment from The Northern Echo
25/01/2002

We have yet to hear from anyone in Government a sound reason why there should not be a public inquiry into the Richard Neale scandal.

How it was possible for a surgeon struck off the medical register in Canada to practise in this country is a matter of overriding public interest.

This case should be examined in detail and the examination should be in the full scrutiny of the public.

It is vital that lessons are learned from this scandal, and the only way to ensure that is to hold an inquiry, and to hold it in public.

There must be no suspicion of a cover-up.

We welcome William Hague's support for a public inquiry and his intention to raise the issue in Parliament.

The former patients of Richard Neale have suffered enough already, without having to endure the added injustice of being denied a proper investigation.