Cameron says more abuse cases should be taken 'if needed'

Further prosecutions, if needed, should be taken over the abuse of vulnerable adults at an English hospital owned by wealthy Irish investors, including businessman Denis Brosnan, British prime minister David Cameron has said.

In the House of Commons yesterday, Conservative MP Jack Lopresti asked Mr Cameron if Castlebeck – which owns the now-closed Winterbourne View hospital in Bristol – should be prosecuted for wilful corporate negligence.

Mr Cameron said anyone who saw the abuse inflicted on the patients by staff – six of whom were jailed this week, while five more were given suspended sentences – “would have been absolutely shocked”.

“They . . . would want to ensure that the law goes exactly where the evidence leads. If further prosecutions are needed, they should happen.”

A final report into the Winterbourne abuse will be published before the end of the month.