Dr Ju Young Um, a 34-year-old anaesthetist, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of 23 voyeurism charges. The Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how Um installed hidden cameras inside air fresheners and a smoke alarm in his Hyndland property, which he partially rented out on Airbnb. The devices were strategically placed to capture individuals in private situations, leading to the recording of over 24 people over a span of more than three years.

The discovery of the cameras was prompted by a victim who noticed the unusual positioning of two air fresheners in the bathroom. Upon closer inspection, hidden cameras were found inside the plastic containers, and a subsequent search revealed a third camera concealed within a smoke alarm. The victim's report to the police led to the seizure of the cameras, along with a mobile phone, laptop, and storage device containing recordings of several individuals.

Further investigations uncovered that Um had also covertly filmed people in private situations within staff accommodation at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. Fraser Gibson, the procurator fiscal for Glasgow and Strathkelvin, described Um's actions as calculated and premeditated, emphasizing the breach of trust and the significant violation of privacy for his own sexual gratification.

In addition to the prison sentence, Um has been placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and will remain on licence for a further nine months following his release, during which time he will be subject to close monitoring and supervision. The case highlights the severe consequences of violating privacy and the importance of vigilance in shared and rented accommodations.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced an urgent independent inquiry into maternity services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, describing himself as "shocked" by families' experiences of "repeated maternity failures in Leeds - made worse by the unacceptable response of the trust." The decision comes after years of campaigning by bereaved families who reported feeling "gaslit, dismissed and even blamed" for what went wrong at one of Europe's largest teaching hospitals. Mr. Streeting emphasized the "stark contradiction between scale and safety standards" at the trust, which official data shows "remains an outlier on perinatal mortality."

The inquiry follows a June downgrade by the Care Quality Commission, which rated maternity services at the trust as "inadequate" and identified serious risks to women and babies. Inspectors highlighted a deep-rooted "blame culture" that made staff reluctant to raise concerns about incidents. Brendan Brown, chief executive of LTH NHS Trust, apologized to bereaved families and expressed hope that the inquiry would provide them with "answers." He stated the trust is "determined to do better" and is already taking significant steps to improve maternity and neonatal services following reviews by regulatory bodies.

Families affected by the failures have welcomed the inquiry but are calling for rigorous leadership, specifically requesting that midwife Donna Ockenden chair the investigation. Fiona Winser-Ramm, whose daughter Aliona died in 2020 after an inquest found multiple failures, emphasized the importance of ensuring the inquiry is "the best and most thorough that it can possibly be." She described how families have been "thrust into this life that none of us should be living," noting that their shared grief should never have brought them together under such circumstances.

Serious questions are now being raised about what Sir Julian Hartley, who led the trust for ten years until 2023 and now heads the Care Quality Commission, knew about the poor maternity care. In a statement, Sir Julian expressed being "truly sorry" for families' suffering and said that while he was "absolutely committed to ensuring good patient care across all services, including maternity," this commitment "wasn't enough to prevent some families suffering pain and loss." Lauren Caulfield, whose daughter Grace died in 2022, called it "completely unacceptable that nothing has been done to date" to examine Sir Julian's role, expressing hope that the inquiry will address this gap.