The death of Andrew Witney following his participation in a drug trial at the Churchill Hospital is truly horrifying. Mr Witney was suffering from mesothelioma and would have died from the illness.

A coroner yesterday found the drug trial he was participating in may have accelerated his death. The side effects he suffered in his final days stripped away his final dignity and the trust has admitted his care was not good enough.

We asked the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust for more information about this trial as it is matter of huge public interest.

How many other people, for example, were involved in the trial and have also suffered horribly or died.

It flatly refused to answer yesterday, adopting the coward’s approach of saying the Oxford Mail should submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

That is nothing but a vile attempt to thwart you, the public, finding out more about this issue. It would be incompetent if it did not know this information, so its refusal to disclose it yesterday shows, in our opinion, a complete contempt towards the public and those it is supposed to be caring for.

It is shameful.