Gosport hospital deaths: Petition handed in to Downing Street

Police investigations into 92 deaths resulted in no charges

A petition calling for justice for people who died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital has been handed in to Downing Street.

In June, an inquiry concluded more than 450 patients died after being given "dangerous" amounts of painkillers.

Three previous investigations by Hampshire Constabulary resulted in no charges being brought.

Bridget Devine-Reeves's petition, which collected more than 101,000 signatures, calls for a criminal inquiry.

Her grandmother, Elsie Devine, was admitted to the hospital in 1999 while she recovered from a urinary tract infection but died after being given the opioid fentanyl, diamorphine, a sedative called midazolam and an anti-psychotic drug called chlorpromazine.

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Ms Devine-Reeves said: "The reason I started this petition is because we can't wait.

"It has been 20 years since the alarm was first raised by one of the first relatives to the police and it's been 30 years, nearly, since the nurses whistleblew on this regime."

Dr Jane Barton was found guilty by a medical panel in 2010 of serious professional misconduct but no prosecutions were brought

The inquiry by the Gosport Independent Panel said the quality of previous police investigations into 92 of the deaths had been "consistently poor".

It found whistleblowers and families were ignored as they attempted to raise concerns about the administration of medication, which was overseen by Dr Jane Barton.

Dr Barton was found guilty of failings in her care of 12 patients at Gosport between 1996 and 1999.

She was not struck off the medical register but chose to retire after the findings.

A new police probe is being led by Assistant Chief Constable Nick Downing, head of serious crime at Kent and Essex Police.