A demand was made today for a high-level public inquiry into the suspicious deaths of three pensioners at Airedale General Hospital.

Senior nurse Anne Grigg-Booth, 52, was to face trial on charges of murdering the three patients at the hospital at Steeton, Keighley, and giving drug overdoses to more than a dozen others between 2000 and 2002.

She died an alcoholic after overdosing on anti-depressants at her home in 2005, before the case was brought before a jury at Bradford Crown Court.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has now ordered an inquiry is carried out by Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority. But the SHA, which is appointing a leading barrister to head the investigation, has revealed that only the final report will be made public.

Councillor Sandra Haigh (Lab, Keighley West) called for there to be transparency about the whole inquiry process. She said: “I do agree that the inquiry should be held in public. I think it is tragic circumstances for the families and a tragic end to someone’s life.

“At the end of the day there wasn’t a trial and she wasn’t proven guilty or otherwise so it would be better if this was done in a transparent way. I think that’s what the people want. They want to see who is doing what and how it’s happening.”

The families of the deceased have long campaigned for a full public inquiry. The Telegraph & Argus also exclusively reported in 2006 that they were being joined by Karen Hansen, of Haworth, who is thought to be the only survivor who can remember what happened to her.

Mrs Hansen said: “We need to have answers because it is the only way we can all get closure, put this behind us and finally move on with our lives. It’s also important we know this can never happen again.”

An SHA spokesman insisted the families of people affected will be kept informed as the inquiry proceeded. He said: “The families of the deceased and patients involved have been consulted and will be invited to be involved further. The findings of the inquiry will be made public.”

Airedale NHS Trust would be co-operating fully throughout the process, he added.

As well as being accused of the murder of three pensioners aged 67, 75 and 96, Grigg-Booth was also charged with the attempted murder of a 42-year-old and of giving drug overdoses to more than 12 others between 2000 and 2002. Grigg-Booth’s former husband Paul Booth has previously told the T&A she was a broken woman at the time of the alleged murders, deeply in debt and an alcoholic.

Her death had robbed her of the chance to tell of her workload and of how she was still deeply troubled by the IRA Omagh bombing in 1998, where she was among the first medical staff to deal with the victims, he said.

The SHA announcement follows a call for an independent inquiry by Keighley MP Ann Cryer, after it was revealed there could be no inquests because the bodies of the three women had already been cremated.

Grigg-Booth died after overdosing on anti-depressants at her home in Nelson, where she had moved. The criminal proceedings against her were then discontinued.

Mrs Cryer said her main concern was that any inquiry identified what had happened. She said: “This is a really sensitive issue and we have to consider the position of the children of the elderly people who died. It has to be handled with care and sensitivity. But it is very important that the inquiry looks closely at the procedures which led up to this tragedy.”

Councillor Elaine Byrom, chairman of Bradford Council’s health improvement committee, argued that the inquiry could be satisfactorily carried out away from the public gaze.

She said: “There are systems held in place and they should be followed. The case is sensational enough as it is without this being done in public.”