Brendan Brown, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, has issued an ‘unreserved apology to families whose babies have sadly died or who have had a poor experience when receiving care in our hospitals'.

Brown, who was appointed in September after Professor Phil Wood agreed to stand with immediate effect, said: ‘We know that in the past we have not listened to families well enough, or responded to their concerns compassionately, and we are determined to do better.  We want to work with the families who have used our services to understand their experiences so that we can make real and lasting improvements.'

The chief executive said the trust had taken ‘significant steps to address improvements to our maternity and neonatal services, following reviews by the Care Quality Commission and NHS England'.

A maternity care review made 101 improvement recommendations in July and the trust is also part of a national investigation announced by health and social care secretary Wes Streeting.

Brown added ‘we know there is still much more to do, and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that every family receives safe, compassionate, inclusive and high quality care'.