Abuse campaigners have raised concerns that no former Stormont health ministers have been called to give evidence at an inquiry into abuse at Muckamore Abbey.
The inquiry is examining allegations of alleged abuse of patients at the Co Antrim hospital, which provided facilities for adults with special needs.
Launched in 2021 and opened for public hearings in June 2022, the inquiry is now reaching its final stages.
In 2017 the PSNI launched a separate investigation after allegations of ill treatment began to emerge.
The police investigation is the biggest criminal safeguarding probe of its kind in the north.
With the inquiry now close to completion, concerns have been raised that no former health ministers, including now First Minister Michelle O’Neill, have been called to give evidence.
Earlier this week chief medical officer and former acting chief executive of the Belfast Trust Sir Michael McBride apologised “unreservedly” to those affected by abuse at Muckamore while giving evidence.
Other senior civil servants have also provided evidence at the inquiry.
At a hearing this week there were tense exchanges between a legal representative for relatives and inquiry chairman Tom Kark.
One of the people who exposed the Muckamore controversy, Glynn Brown, has spoken of his frustration that high-profile political figures have not been called to attend.
Mr Glynn, who leads the Action for Muckamore (AFM) campaign group, helped expose the Muckamore scandal after learning that his son had been assaulted at the hospital.
“Realistically, the buck stops with the health minister, and each individual health minister,” Mr Brown said.
Since the establishment of the assembly several of the main parties, including Sinn Féin, DUP and UUP have all held the health portfolio at Stormont.
“So, they all need to be grilled,” Mr Brown added.
“They knew very quickly there was a major scandal, so why did we have to fight for three years to get a public inquiry?
Mr Brown believes his MP and DUP leader Gavin Robinson could also provide evidence directly to the inquiry.
Solicitor Claire McKeegan, of Phoenix Law, said: “The public need to hear from those who ultimately had the statutory responsibility to deliver safe and appropriate care on how they discharged that duty.
“The public have an interest in seeing them held to account. That is the power of and an important purpose of a public inquiry.
“Everyone will have seen it to good effect recently in the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.”
A spokesman for Sinn Féin said: ““It is entirely a matter for the Inquiry to decide who it wishes to call. If a request is made, we would, of course, attend the inquiry as we have continued to call for an urgent public inquiry into Muckamore and for families to get justice and to get to the truth of what happened.”
The DUP and UUP were contacted.
The Muckamore inquiry was contacted.
