Editorial Thursday 20 June 2013: CQC releases names of the four at the table for Morecambe Bay cover-up report deletion

Health Service Journal has the CQC's letter to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt naming the four senior CQC staff at the meeting at which the decision to cover up the internal Morecambe Bay report was made.

They were CQC's former CE Cynthia Bower (now NED of Skills For Health, though as you'll see through the links, she has disappeared in recent hours); former CQC deputy CE Jill Finney (now chief commercial officer of Nominet); and two current members of CQC staff: Louise Dineley, head of regulatory risk and quality; and Anna Jefferson, media manager.

HSJ's Sarah Calkin tweets that Jill Finney made the remarks about the internal report being deleted. The Guardian's politics liveblog puts the picture together with the Grant Thornton report: Louise Dineley alleges that Jill Finney made the 'read my lips' remark, and was backed by both Cynthia Bower and Anna Jefferson.

It is possible Jill Finney will dispute this. I've requested a response, as to whether Finney denies the attributed remarks in the GT report, from her current employer Nominet.

Due process should now follow.

Updated:  Nominet have released the following statement - "The increasing public scrutiny over our CCO’s former role at CQC has made it impossible for her to continue with her role and responsibilities at Nominet.

"With regret, we felt it necessary to terminate Jill Finney’s employment with immediate effect.  Ms Finney will be paid one month’s salary in lieu of notice".

Updated: Anna Jefferson has issued a lengthy statement, which can be found on the Health Service Journal website, in which she disputes the Grant Thornton account.

UPDATED: Jill Finney denies on BBC News that she ordered the report to be deleted.

Updated: Grant Thornton have commented as follows: "Grant Thornton fully supports the validity and accuracy of the detailed report we’ve produced for the Care Quality Commission, believing it to be a true and accurate reflection of our findings following the in-depth investigation we were commissioned to undertake”.

UPDATED: Cynthia Bower also makes various denials in The Independent.

Updated: The CQC issued a statement on 3 October 2013 announcing that in its internal disciplinary process in the case of its head of media Anna Jefferson, there is "no case for Anna Jefferson to answer" and she did not use "any inappropriate phrases", as attributed to her by a witness in the Grant Thornton report.

UPDATED:  Following the settlement of Jill Finney's libel case with CQC without admission of guilt by the CQC in December 2014, Ms Finney has written this interesting account of events for The Indpenedent.