Wes Streeting has apologised on behalf of the NHS to families whose children have died or been seriously injured in birth, as he announced a "rapid national investigation" into maternity care. The Health Secretary said the investigation would address systematic problems dating back over 15 years, targeting up to 10 worst-performing maternity units. It will begin work this summer and report by Christmas.

Speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) World Conference in London, Mr Streeting said he had met with dozens of families and heard "deeply painful stories of trauma, loss, and a lack of basic compassion - caused by failures in NHS maternity care that should never have happened". He added: "All of them have had to fight for truth and justice. They describe being ignored, gaslit, lied to, manipulated and damaged further by the inability for a trust to simply be honest with them because something has gone wrong.

"I want to say publicly how sorry I am. Sorry for what the NHS has put them through; sorry for the way they've been treated since by the state, and sorry that we haven't put this right yet, because these families are owed more than an apology. They're owed change, they're owed real accountability and they're owed the truth."

The NHS has been plagued by maternity scandals in recent years, with official reviews launched into a number of services including those in Nottingham; East Kent; Shrewsbury and Telford and Morecambe Bay.

Mr Streeting said these and other highly publicised scandals had deepened the public's mistrust in the state.

He added: "From the Horizon Post Office scandal to the infected blood scandal, the degradation of responsibility and trust in our institutions is compounding a cynicism and malaise at the ability of British politics to deliver for people. This is a dangerous place for a country to be."

NHS chief executive Sir Jim Mackey and chief nursing officer Duncan Burton will meet with the trusts of greatest concern - which are expected to include Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex, and Sussex - during the next month to "hold them to account for improvement", Mr Streeting said.

A second part of the investigation will be a "system-wide" look at maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past maternity inquiries to create one "clear set of actions" designed to improve national NHS care.

The Health Streeting said part of his mission was also to rebuild the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and other regulators which are "failing to discharge their duties effectively on behalf of the public".

The NHS paid out £2.8 billion in compensation last year, with 41% of all payouts related to maternity care, according to data obtained by the Liberal Democrats from the House of Commons Library earlier this year.

The Royal College of Midwives welcomed the investigation and said every woman should "leave maternity and neonatal services whole, happy and healthy".

Chief executive Gill Walton added: "Systemic failings and a lack of attention to the warning signs have let those families down and let down the hardworking staff who are trying so hard to provide the care they deserve.

"Everyone involved in maternity services: the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families in their care; knows that maternity services are at, or even beyond, breaking point."

However, Theo Clarke, a former Conservative MP who chaired the UK Birth Trauma Inquiry last year, said another investigation was not necessary.

She said the problems with care were "well known courtesy of Donna Ockenden and my cross party Birth Trauma Inquiry in Parliament last year with Rosie Duffield MP".

Ms Clarke added: "Just like the grooming gangs we know what the problem is but nothing gets done except more talk.

"Wes Streeting needs to take action. He has all the tools and knowledge at hand to implement a national maternity strategy right now which the previous Government had committed to. A delay like this is just failing more mothers."

RCOG president Professor Ranee Thakar also urged the Government "not to lose sight of funding and workforce shortages within this".

She said that "for years, maternity units have had too few staff, too little time for training and lacked modern equipment and facilities, resulting in women and babies being harmed."