ONE of jailed doctor Michael Haslam's victims has pulled out of the NHS sexual abuse inquiry after discovering she risked being sued if she gave certain evidence.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, says that, until the last minute, she was prepared to speak at the inquiry into the way the NHS handled complaints against the disgraced former York psychiatrist.

But then she was told that Haslam's lawyer had warned the inquiry that witnesses giving evidence could lay themselves open to a defamation action.

"I was absolutely horrified and shocked," she said. "I went into a cold sweat and panicked.

"I had believed that there would be full legal protection for witnesses giving evidence.

"If I could not be given full legal protection, how on earth could I give evidence?

"I don't feel the inquiry grasped the implications of this or made any effort to do so. I felt this was the final straw, after first suffering the abuse and then going through the criminal legal system last December."

The woman, one of three former patients who were indecently assaulted by Haslam in the 1980s, claimed that when she told an inquiry team member of the upset that the news was causing her, she received little reassurance or sympathy.

She added that she was concerned that other witnesses might also be deterred from giving evidence.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Phil Willis, who originally pressed the Government to hold the inquiry, said last night: "I find this absolutely astonishing."

He said that during discussions with Alan Milburn, the then Health Secretary who ordered the inquiry in 2001, he was given assurances that witnesses would be able to speak freely and frankly.

"This is a betrayal of the principles of this inquiry," he claimed, aand said he intended to raise the issue with Health Secretary John Reid.

An inquiry spokesman said today: "We are aware that this issue has arisen during the course of the oral hearings.

"We are seeking urgent advice to ensure that the inquiry is able to receive all the evidence that it needs to carry out the tasks it has been set by the Secretary of State."

Solicitor Philip Chapman, who is representing Haslam at the inquiry, declined to comment, saying he had been asked by the inquiry chairman not to make any comment on confidential matters relating to the hearing.

Updated: 10:30 Friday, June 18, 2004