AN inquiry into the avoidable deaths of six babies at Crosshouse Hospital near Kilmarnock will not be independent, according to patient safety campaigners.

The group, Action for a Safe and Accountable People’s NHS (ASAP NHS) has called on health secretary Shona Robison to consider appointing the Health and Safety Executive, or England’s Care Quality Commission (CQC) to carry out the investigation instead.

It said NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland, which was appointed by Ms Robison to carry out the probe, could not be relied upon to be impartial about NHS Scotland.

Campaigner Rab Wilson, of ASAP NHS, said: “How can Healthcare Improvement Scotland investigate maternity services in the Scottish NHS, which it is part of? The OECD has already criticised the Scottish Government for ‘marking its own homework’. This is another case of putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.”

Shadow health secretary Donald Cameron backed the call for an independent report into concerns uncovered by the BBC. He said: “With HIS being a part of the NHS, they are unable to provide a truly independent viewpoint, and in a matter as serious as this it is vital that we have an objective analysis of what has happened.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “I have complete confidence in NHS HIS, and they are the best people to undertake the independent scrutiny required for this review. I have asked them to report back to me at the earliest opportunity. If there are lessons to be learned or improvements which need to be made, we will not hesitate to act.”