Melanie Leahy
Melanie Leahy is a British mental health campaigner, best known for leading calls for a statutory public inquiry into deaths in Essex mental health services following the death of her son, Matthew Leahy, in 2012. Her campaigning resulted in the creation of the Lampard Inquiry, a statutory inquiry investigating more than 2,000 deaths in Essex mental health provision between 2000 and 2023.[1][2]
Early life and career
Leahy grew up in Chelmsford, Essex. After leaving school, she completed an apprenticeship with the English Electric Valve Company and qualified as an electronic engineer. She later worked for a medical company servicing and repairing equipment, and subsequently established a local advertising business, which she ran for a decade before selling it.[3]
Death of Matthew Leahy
In November 2012, Leahy’s son, Matthew, died aged 20 at the Linden Centre, a mental health unit in Chelmsford operated by the North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (later merged into Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, EPUT). Investigations into his death raised concerns of missing and altered documentation and serious failures in care. The case attracted national attention and became a focal point in discussions on patient safety within mental health services.[4]
#MatthewsCampaign
Following her son’s death, Leahy launched #MatthewsCampaign to raise awareness of systemic failings in mental health care.
In 2019, she created a petition calling for a full public inquiry into her son’s death. The petition passed 100,000 signatures, securing a parliamentary debate.[3]
Parliamentary recognition
Leahy’s campaigning has been the subject of multiple debates in the House of Commons. In November 2020, MPs debated her petition calling for a statutory public inquiry.[5]
In January 2023, MPs expressed concern that more than 2,000 deaths would not be fully investigated without statutory powers.[6]
Lampard Inquiry
In June 2023, the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry was converted into a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005, chaired by Baroness Kate Lampard.[7]
The Inquiry is examining more than 2,000 inpatient deaths between 2000 and 2023, including services run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT).[8][1][2]
In September 2024, the Daily Telegraph revealed leaked WhatsApp messages from 2020 in which Nadine Dorries, then Health Minister, told Matt Hancock she was “picking off” families and said “we aren’t going there” in order to block calls for a full statutory inquiry.[9]
Further coverage and analysis of the scope and progress of the Lampard Inquiry has been provided by INQUEST,[10] the Inquiry’s own updates,[11] and news outlets including The Independent and Sky News.[12][13]
Advocacy and recognition
Leahy has worked alongside organisations such as INQUEST,[10] and has spoken publicly about issues including falsified records, lack of candour in investigations, and stronger protections for families and whistleblowers.
She has also been supported by the law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, which represents families affected by failings in Essex mental health care and has published updates on the Lampard Inquiry.[14]
She has campaigned alongside bereaved family groups and with mothers in Northern Ireland under the *New Script for Mental Health* movement, who have joined her in calling for reform.[15]
In 2021, Leahy was nominated for a Bloody Awesome Parents (BAPS) Award for her campaigning on behalf of families affected by failings in mental health services. In 2022, she was nominated for a Pride of Britain Award in recognition of her campaigning. In 2025, she was named a winner of the "Heroes of the Edinburgh Tattoo" award, recognising her decade-long campaign for truth and accountability.
Her campaigning has also been featured in investigative documentaries, including the BBC Panorama investigation in 2022,[13] and Channel 4’s Dispatches in 2023, which examined failures in Essex mental health services.
Personal life
Leahy lives in Essex. She has described her campaigning as a promise to her son Matthew and has said she will continue until there is truth, accountability, and lasting reform in mental health services.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Essex mental health inquiry will reveal hundreds more deaths, chair says". The Guardian. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Lampard Inquiry: Number of mental health deaths in Essex 'significantly in excess' of 2,000". Sky News. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Essex mental health services: Calls for statutory public inquiry to be debated by politicians". ITV News. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "A mother's seven-year fight for justice after her son died under mental health care". ITV News. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Deaths in Mental Health Care — Westminster Hall debate". Hansard. UK Parliament. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry". Hansard. UK Parliament. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Inquiry into 2,000 mental health deaths in Essex NHS trusts given legal powers". The Guardian. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Mental health deaths inquiry to investigate failings on a 'shocking scale'". ITV News. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Nadine Dorries WhatsApp messages 'broke mother's heart'". The Telegraph. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Statutory inquiry into deaths in Essex mental health services to resume". INQUEST. 24 April 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Staff call for written evidence". Lampard Inquiry. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Mental health inquiry to hear new evidence". The Independent. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Matthew Leahy 'died in a place he called hell' — mother urges thorough investigation". Sky News. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "The Lampard Inquiry". Hodge Jones & Allen. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Bereaved mothers call for urgent action to fix mental health services in Northern Ireland". The Independent. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
External links
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