NHS staff who inappropriately accessed the medical records of a man mauled to death by a tiger at a Yorkshire zoo should be sacked, Yvette Cooper has demanded.
The Health Secretary said there should be a zero-tolerance approach to NHS workers snooping on confidential patient information, warning that those found guilty of breaching the rules should lose their jobs.
Her intervention comes after it emerged that two ambulance service employees are being investigated over allegations they accessed or attempted to access the medical records of William Chapman, 24, following his horrific death at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
The former child actor was killed after climbing into an enclosure housing a 200kg Amur tiger named Altai at the Doncaster attraction on October 10.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has launched an investigation into the suspected privacy breaches, which were uncovered during routine audits, and reported the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Speaking to Sky News's Sunday Morning programme, Ms Cooper said: 'I take this extremely seriously.
'I know there's a specific investigation going into that case, but we just need to be absolutely clear.
'No member of NHS staff should be accessing records that they do not need to see for medical care, and reasons simply for something to do with voyeurism, or what is in the news, or any of that kind of reason.
NHS staff who inappropriately accessed the medical records of a man mauled to death by a tiger at a Yorkshire zoo should be sacked, Yvette Cooper has demanded
William Chapman, 24, who had a history of mental illness, was mauled to death after entering the tiger pen at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday
'It is not only is it a total disgrace, but I've spoken to the NHS chief executive about this.
'We agree that if there are cases here of people inappropriately accessing medical records, then they should be suspended while the investigation takes place and we need a much swifter line on this because these are basic standards, and everybody across the NHS knows that these are the basic standards.
'The overwhelming majority of our NHS staff not only respect these standards but value these standards as these people need to say, and we have to have firm.'
Asked directly whether those responsible should lose their jobs, she added: 'If there are breaches then people actually need to be sacked.'
Her comments come amid growing scrutiny of NHS staff accessing confidential records without legitimate medical reasons, with 15 workers at a Nottingham hospital trust now dismissed for snooping on the files of victims of the 2023 Nottingham attacks.
The latest controversy erupted after Yorkshire Ambulance Service identified two suspected instances of staff accessing or attempting to access information relating to Mr Chapman's death.
Paramedics and an air ambulance had rushed to the wildlife park shortly after 1.35pm on October 10, but Mr Chapman was pronounced dead at the scene.
In a statement, a spokesman for the trust said: 'First and foremost, our thoughts are with William Chapman's family at this distressing time.
Zookeepers were said to have done 'everything they could' to drive the tiger away from Mr Chapman, firing five loud gun blasts in an attempt to scare him
Altai, the 200kg Amur tiger which attacked Mr Chapman, is seen in his enclosure on Friday as the park reopened
'The Trust has identified an information governance concern in relation to this tragic incident at Yorkshire Wildlife Park and William's family has been informed of our ongoing investigation into this.
'We believe there may have been two instances involving two members of staff accessing or attempting to access incident/medical information following this incident without a legitimate reason to do so.
'We take the confidentiality and security of patient information extremely seriously and have robust systems in place to protect information, and this concern has been identified as a result of our proactive audits.'
The trust said it was investigating the full circumstances of the potential breaches and the actions of the two employees involved.
It has not yet been established whether either worker successfully viewed Mr Chapman's confidential medical information.
The revelations will bring further anguish to Mr Chapman's devastated family, who have already raised concerns about the mental health care he received in the period leading up to his death.
An inquest opening at Doncaster Coroner's Court on Thursday heard that Mr Chapman had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had suffered previous episodes of psychosis.
He was under the care of Doncaster Mental Health Services but was described as 'highly functioning and independent with no care requirements'.
Coroner's officer Caitlin Brookes told the hearing: 'His family have expressed a number of concerns in relation to his contact with mental health services leading up to his death.'
Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust has launched a separate investigation into his care.
The trust has also introduced enhanced restrictions around access to his medical records following his death, although it said it had found no evidence that its own employees had attempted to access them inappropriately.
Mr Chapman, who had previously worked as a child actor, was seen dancing on a raised walkway above the tiger enclosure while listening to music through his AirPods in the minutes before the fatal attack.
Witnesses said he asked a visitor to take photographs of him with the animal in the background before climbing over two fences to enter the enclosure.
Students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar (left and centre) and grandfather Ian Coates (right) were knifed to death by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane in June 2023
He subsequently posted a final video to Instagram showing himself approaching the tiger.
A post-mortem examination provisionally recorded his cause of death as 'multiple traumatic injuries'.
His family have described him as a 'bright, warm and engaging young man' who had struggled with significant mental illness over several years.
The wildlife park reopened on Friday after remaining closed for almost a week following the tragedy.
South Yorkshire Police investigated the incident, while the City of Doncaster Council, which licenses the zoo, has launched a health and safety inquiry. A full inquest is scheduled for March 18 next year.
The scandal comes just days after Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed that four more staff members had been dismissed for improperly accessing the medical records of victims of the Nottingham stabbings, taking the total number sacked to 15.
University students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, were killed by Valdo Calocane during a rampage through Nottingham on June 13, 2023.
Three others, Wayne Birkett, Sharon Miller and Marcin Gawronski, survived after being attacked.
The trust launched investigations in 2025 after discovering employees had accessed confidential records without legitimate reasons.
Eleven staff had previously been dismissed, but the trust confirmed on Friday that the figure had risen to 15.
A further 15 employees received final written warnings and two were handed first written warnings.
Those investigated included doctors, nurses, registered healthcare professionals and administrative staff.
The trust has apologised to the bereaved families and is introducing a new monitoring system designed to detect suspicious access to patient records.
Investigations into the handling of medical information relating to the three surviving victims are continuing.