A former Oxford hospitals boss is to head up the inquiry into 'morgue monster' David Fuller.

Sir Jonathan Michael, an experienced NHS chief executive, was head of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust for four years from 2010.

An independent inquiry will look into how murderer Fuller went undetected in sexually abusing 100 corpses in hospital mortuaries, the Government has said.

The hospital electrician admitted murdering then sexually assaulting two women decades before carrying out dozens of sex attacks on corpses in mortuaries over more than a decade.

Sajid Javid has announced an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the offences committed at the hospital, and their national implications.

Penalties available for “appalling” sexual offences will be re-examined to ensure they are appropriate following the case, the Health Secretary also said.

Mr Javid, who apologised to the friends and family of the victims, said the trust involved has already initiated an independent investigation, and thanked it for the steps taken so far.

In a statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon, he told MPs: “Given the scale and the nature of these sexual offences, I believe that we must go further.

“Today I can announce that I am replacing the trust investigation with an independent inquiry.

“The inquiry will look into the circumstances surrounding the offences committed at the hospital, and their national implications.

“It will help us understand how these offences took place without detection in the trust, identify any areas where early action by this trust was necessary, and then consider wider national issues, including for the NHS.”

Mr Javid said it will be split into two parts – the first being an interim report expected “early in the new year”.

He added: “The second (will be) a final report looking at the broader national picture and the wider lessons for the NHS and for other settings.”

Mr Javid said the terms of reference will be published in “due course” and the chairman will hold talks with families and others.

Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark, who had previously called for an inquiry, said it should address worries about other unauthorised access to mortuaries across the NHS.

Mr Clark added: “It is important that the House understands the need for this, as well as brutally murdering two young women, Fuller raped the dead bodies of over 100 girls and women.

“Their identities are known and that means that their families have been informed, and the shock and the desolation that these families are going through is beyond imagination.

“That’s why the inquiry is so important, because it can never be allowed to happen again.”

Fuller, 67, pleaded guilty on Thursday to murdering Wendy Knell, 25, and Caroline Pierce, 20, in two separate attacks in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in 1987.

Identified victims included three children under the age of 18 and others older than 85 between 2008 and November 2020.