Mr Burnham used his speech at the Royal College of Midwives on Friday to pledge tougher action, saying he had told the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to investigate if any other hospitals had similar issues.

BBC: Hospital performance levels to be investigated

The decisions on whether or not a pledge has been met do not include judgements as to the inherent value of any of the pledges or the quality of its delivery.

BBC: Analysis: Labour's pledges