Michael Mansfield QC is adamant that a damning report into David Cameron's NHS reforms was independent from Labour influence after it revealed Ealing Hospital's A&E has, on average, performed worse than anywhere in England following A&E closures.

At the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday (Dec 2) QC Mr Mansfield, who led an Independent Healthcare Commission probe, outlined his findings into Tory NHS reforms which led changes under Shaping a Healthier Future (SaHF).

He described the reforms as "deeply flawed" after a graph (below) showed Ealing Hospital and North West London Healthcare Trust have, on average, performed worse than anywhere in the country since the closure of Central Middlesex and Hammersmith A&Es in September 2014.

Graph of A & E performance since Central Middlesex and Hammersmith A & E's closed in September 2014

The closure of the "exemplary" maternity unit at Ealing Hospital in July was of particular concern and the report has called for it to be re-opened.

But Mr Mansfield, whose report has been accused of bias because it was organised and funded by Labour councils including Ealing, denied Conservative claims it was influenced by Left-wing politics.

Michael Mansfield QC: "We have not approached it from a political point of view."

He said: "In one sense everything we deal with is political, with a small 'p', so I'm not trying to say that - if you're not a political animal then I don't know where you're living.

"We have not looked at the extent to which it might be influenced or not and that's why the diagram I pointed you to (Ealing's A&E performance), you don't need the politics you can see that at the end of the day, a point we have made several times in the enquiry is that there's a cluster of hospitals towards the south of this area, taking in west London altogether, which serves as a better off community (compared to others).

"Well that's a political statement with a small 'p', I'm not making it a big 'P', and therefore communities which are highlighted in graphic form that are vulnerable, have fewer resources and, coincidentally, have a much greater incidents of illness because of that, so my answer is we have looked at the distribution to say 'this is the product of this plan, do you want it?'

"We say it should not be like that, we are talking about the distribution so that there is, in an urban area not in a rural area, in an urban area if you want equidistant access and ready access then it has to be planned and resourced properly so that's how we have approached it."

NHS plans should be "halted immediately"

According to the report, which called for SaHF plans to be "halted immediately", cuts have been aimed towards the most deprived communities with vulnerable patients forced to use poor transport links to receive care.

It accused SaHF of failing to consider population growth, the rise of over-60s, inadequate public consultation, poor value for money and closure of facilities without alternatives.

In additional to halting future plans, which includes downsizing Ealing Hospital and selling parts of Charing Cross, the report has urged local authorities to consider a judicial review.

"Once again Labour are playing politics with the NHS"

But the report has drawn heavy criticism from Leader of the Conservative Group in Ealing, Greg Stafford , who accused the report of not being "worth the paper it is written on".

He said: "Once again Labour are playing politics with the NHS.

"The reforms to local hospitals began under the last Labour government and was proposed and agreed by local GPs.

"Only through the intervention of the Conservative Secretary of State were two of the four A&E's (Ealing and Charing Cross) saved from closure.

"To call it 'independent' is laughable, this report has cost Ealing residents' tens of thousands of pounds and isn't worth the paper it is written on."

But his accusation was played down by Labour assembly member for Ealing and Hillingdon Dr Onkar Sahota , who attended the launch and asked why the Conservative Party have not provided any evidence in the report.

Tories are "bureaucrats"

Labour council leader Julian Bell, who also attended the launch, accused the Tories of breaking promises made clear by the report.

He said: "That was very powerful, what is says to me is that it was an independent review of the facts and it showed that Ealing is hardest hit by these proposals.

"All of these promises that have been made by these bureaucrats, they have been useless - they feign support for local hospitals.

"It does not take a brain surgeon to work out these plans should not have been implemented."

But Conservative councillor Joy Morrissey urged the public to be wary of bias because it was organised and funded by Labour.