Vince Cable

Following a government decision this week to proceed with a new, more accurate and reliable system of cervical cancer screening Vincent Cable, MP, claimed that this was a victory for the 5000 or so Twickenham women (and others elsewhere) who had written to him in the last two years pressing for the change.

Prompted by the strength of feedback from local women Vincent Cable has secured two parliamentary debates on cancer screening, in particular pressing for early implementation of the new LBC (liquid based cytology) test which will now replace the 'smear' test over the next two years.

Vincent Cable said: "this is a big important decision which will save the lives of around 100 women a year whose cancers are not picked up by the smear test - though the government has taken long enough to make up its mind. But the impact of the decision has been undermined by the parallel decision to raise the screening age from 20 to 25 which will leave younger women unprotected."