19 suspects to be questioned over Gosport War Memorial Hospital deaths
Investigators have been looking into the deaths of 456 patients between 1987 and 2001
Last updated 17th May 2023
Police looking into the deaths of hundreds of patients at a hospital in Hampshire have identified 19 suspects.
456 patients at Gosport War Memorial Hospital died between 1987 and 2001 after being given powerful painkillers, according to an independent panel.
Kent Police is leading a new criminal investigation, after three previous ones by Hampshire Police led to no-one being prosecuted.
The investigation has been described as 'one of the largest and most complex of its nature in the history of UK policing'.
150 serving and retired detectives have been looking into more than 3 million pages of documents, including the medical records of over 750 patients.
1,150 individual family members have supplied witness statements.
Relatives of the victims have previously also called for judge-led Hillsborough-style inquests.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Jerome, who is leading Operation Magenta for Kent Police, has said that the 19 suspects are currently being interviewed under caution, and that officers are working as 'quickly and thoroughly as possible'.
"Every single patient who died is important to us and their individual cases must be reviewed in full in order for an assessment to be made on their evidential strength.
"We also owe it to their families to investigate each death to the same high standard, and at the conclusion of the investigation all families who want to will be told everything we discovered about the nature of their care.
"It is these families who are at the heart of everything we do. We remain committed to building and maintaining trust and confidence among them and will continue to keep them updated on the progress of the investigation."