An MP’s request for all letters and emails from August 31, 2009, onwards discussing the future of Kingston Hospital has been denied under the Freedom of Information Act.

Department for Health officials denied the request from Susan Kramer, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, blaming the sheer volume of material.

She said: “This answer just reveals the sheer volume of discussions that have been had about the future of our local NHS services, and further strengthens our case to get everything into the public domain.

“If the Government thinks it can continue to work on these proposals without having to answer to the local community then they are very much mistaken.”