A North-East father of a baby whose organs were secretly kept by a hospital has branded as " barbaric" the illegal removal of thousands of mentally ill people's brains after their deaths.

The man, who asked not to be named, spoke out on the eve of a Government inquiry which is likely to reveal today that doctors were removing brains for research purposes without families' consent from 1970 until 1999.

About 24,000 brains - half of the total of all organs retained for research - are still stored in hospitals and universities in Britain, the report is expected to say.

The father, whose son's organs were stored without consent by Newcastle's Freeman Hospital in 1998, said: "It is a barbaric practice. What gives anyone the right to just take out what they want to take?

"The Government must have known that it was going on," said the father, who lives near Durham City.

The man and his wife discovered 11 of their son's organs had been removed after ringing a hospital hotline in 2001.

The latest inquiry was launched after a campaign by a Manchester widow whose husband's brain was retained following his suicide in 1987.

Elaine Isaacs discovered that her husband Cyril's brain had been kept for research by the University of Manchester without her consent. She received an apology from the university but continued to campaign for a public inquiry, which led Health Secretary Alan Milburn to order an investigation two years ago.

Mr Milburn is expected to announce new measures to punish doctors and scientists who keep body parts without consent today.

Campaigners said they were optimistic that the report could lead the way to outlawing the practice.

Alison Cobb, from mental health charity Mind, said:"It is something that should not have happened."

Mind's helpline for families is (01271) 377485.