Jeremy Hunt has been branded "disgraceful" after he refused to say whether a six-figure payoff for disgraced former Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust boss Katrina Percy would be investigated.

Sara Ryan, whose son Connor Sparrowhawk drowned in a bath while in the care of the trust in Oxford in 2013, said Mr Hunt's answer to a question from Shadow Health Minister Barbara Keeley was "outrageous".

Speaking at Health Questions in the House of Commons yesterday Health Secretary Mr Hunt admitted Ms Percy's departure and subsequent payoff had been handled badly.

But he did not reply to Ms Keeley's query on whether he would investigate.

Ms Percy headed the trust during a period in which an NHS England investigation found it failed to investigate hundreds of deaths.

After the investigation's findings were revealed she was moved into a strategic advisory role and kept her £190,000 executive salary.

Last week the Trust said she would leave with immediate effect following a public backlash, but would receive a year's salary as a settlement.

Dr Ryan said: "It is so disrespectful, it really is.

"That he cannot answer that question at this point is disgraceful.

"This whole awful experience has shown how deeply flawed the NHS is and it has been so publicly exposed.

"It has been so poorly handled".

Speaking in Parliament Ms Keeley said she agreed with campaigners who said the handling of Ms Percy's departure was "utterly dreadful" and asked Mr Hunt if he would investigate.

Mr Hunt said: "I agree that the way this was handled was by no means satisfactory.

"I do not think the NHS handled this as well as it should but we do have much more transparency and we do now have a situation where people do not go on and get other jobs in the NHS."