The quality of NHS cancer screening has been thrown into question with the disclosure that one in three women with cervical cancer had wrongly been given the all-clear.

A Leicestershire audit of an NHS screening programme found that 14 women died and 64 had hysterectomies after cancer signs were not picked up. The study suggests that 120 women die every year in England because early cancer signs are missed in screening. Health officials argue that the figures have to be seen in the context of the 1,300 lives saved every year by cervical screening.