Research by the Liberal Democrats shows the number of direct and indirect maternity deaths increased by 22% to 254 between 2021 and 2023, from 209 in 2015-17.

Liberal Democrat primary care and hospitals spokesperson, Jess Brown-Fuller, said: ‘The health secretary needs to announce concrete steps including a commitment to implementing all the actions from the Ockenden report immediately. We cannot allow a situation to persist where people are needlessly dying and their loved ones are left to pick up the pieces.'

The Liberal Democrats said death rate per 100,000 maternities now stands at 12.67, far higher than in 2015-17 when it stood at 9.16.

The party said a third of the 31 aspects of the Three-Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal care which began in 2022 so far measured had gone backwards rather than improved.

Previous research by the Lib Dems found issues in maternity care were responsible for the NHS paying out £1.15bn last year, making it responsible for 41% of all compensation paid.

A rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services was ordered by health and social care secretary Wes Streeting in June to drive urgent improvements in patient care and safety.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘This Government inherited an unacceptable situation where too many families have suffered due to failures in maternity care and the NHS has been paying billions for its mistakes, rather than fixing them.

‘We are committed to breaking that cycle and providing mothers and babies with safe, compassionate care once and for all. That is why we have announced a rapid national maternity investigation to identify where things are going wrong and identify solutions.

‘But we know change can't wait. That is why we are setting up a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, rolling out a digital system to better identify safety concerns and a new training programme to help prevent avoidable injuries at childbirth.'