PROTESTORS hit out last night after it was revealed that an inquiry into a disgraced surgeon dubbed "The Butcher" is to be held behind closed doors.

Richard Neale was struck off the medical register a year ago after a series of horrific blunders on patients at a North Yorkshire hospital.

Last night, the Department of Health announced an independent inquiry will be held into the case of the gynaecologist, who treated women from the region, but the Government's refusal to hold the hearing in public sparked outrage among many of his victims.

Chaired by an NHS medical director, the inquiry will look into how the NHS handled allegations about Neale's performance and conduct.

While former patients will be invited to contribute to the investigation and the findings will be published in full, the hearings will not be in public.

More than 60 women who were patients of Neale are awaiting compensation after suing the NHS. He is also being investigated by the police in the UK and Canada.

Confirmation that the investigation will be in private was greeted with anger by leading members of the Victims of Richard Neale support group.

Their call for a campaign to force the Government to open up the inquiry was backed by Tory leader William Hague.

It was also backed by the UK's largest independent patient support group, The Patients' Association.

The 200-strong Neale group, which campaigned successfully for the surgeon to be struck off, has been pressing for a full public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Neale's chequered career, at The Friarage Hospital in Northallerton and other UK hospitals.

Despite being struck off in Canada after the death of a patient, he was able to gain promotion despite mounting complaints from patients. Victims are angry that no-one blew the whistle, despite growing evidence of slipshod practices.

The last straw for campaigners was when The Friarage Hospital gave Neale a £100,000 pay-off and a good reference when they wanted him to leave, instead of dismissing him.

Group spokesman Graham Maloney pledged that it would press for a public inquiry.

"It is a complete farce. It is not independent. It is an NHS investigation into the NHS which is simply not good enough," said Mr Maloney.

"We may have to challenge this through the courts. It is bordering on a whitewash."

Sheila Wright-Hogeland, a former patient of Neale who helped found the support group, said: "It is almost laughable. It is totally inadequate."

Health officials and doctors who appointed Neale and stood by him must be called to public account, she said.

Mr Hague, whose Richmond constituency includes North-allerton, said: "I think it should be public, it should be open. I'm glad there is going to be an inquiry."

For patients to be confident in the process, they should be able to witness a full inquiry, he said. "Some of my constituents have suffered very greatly in this whole business and they have been fighting for years for the matter to be properly investigated and sorted out."

* A separate investigation is to be held into how local NHS services dealt with concerns raised about North Yorkshire psychiatrists Dr William Kerr and Dr Michael Haslam.

In December 2000 Dr Kerr was placed on the sex offenders register after a court concluded that he had indecently assaulted a vulnerable patient. The review will also look at the response to allegations made about Dr Haslam.