CAMPAIGNERS have failed in last-ditch bid to win a public inquiry into the Richard Neale scandal.

It means after a lengthy fight for justice the campaign group will have to rely on the findings of an internal NHS inquiry, rather than the full public inquiry they sought.

The Court of Appeal yesterday refused permission to the group to appeal for a public inquiry into the Neale affair.

The group believed a public inquiry was the only way to get to the bottom of why the surgeon was allowed to carry on operating for so long, despite being struck off in Canada after the death of two patients.

In a statement, Lord Justice Laws said he refused the request because he was satisfied at the reasons given by Lord Justice Scott Baker at the original hearing in February.

Sheila Wright-Hogeland, one of the original founders of the group, which represents 250 victims of the former Northallerton, North Yorkshire surgeon, said: "We wanted the injured former patients, the families of the deceased patients, and the British public finally to know the full truth. Now we shall never know."

Mrs Wright-Hogeland thanked everybody who had given the group their "unwavering" support, including MPs from all parties.

She criticised the Government for promoting a "no blame" culture which she argued amounts to "no responsibility for one's actions".

The British people did not deserve to have the country run this way, she said.

"Nor do they deserve it, any more than all the victims of Neale deserve the shabby and unjust treatment they have had at the hands of this Govenrment in denying them a public inquiry," she added.

The Department of Health has successfully argued in the courts that an NHS investigation chaired by an independent figure was the most appropriate way to investigate the issues raised by the Neale case.

Read more about the Richard Neale scandal here.