MLAs stand with Ladies with Letters campaign group in its call for a Statutory Public Inquiry

Today (October 7, 2025), MLAs stood with the Ladies with Letters campaign group at Stormont to support the group’s call for a statutory public inquiry into the cervical screening scandal. This week marks two years since 17,500 women in the Southern Health & Social Care Trust (SHSCT) area received letters advising them that their smear tests were being reviewed.

The letters were issued following a report by the Royal College of Pathologists, which uncovered serious failings in cervical screening carried out by the SHSCT over a 13-year period.

As part of its ongoing campaign for a statutory public inquiry into the scandal that denied women the opportunity for early detection and treatment, the group has launched a dedicated campaign webpage. The site provides further information and contact details for those seeking support.

The group is asking members of the public who are empathetic to the cause and who share its concerns to visit ladieswithletters.co.uk and help strengthen the call for accountability by writing to their elected representatives using the template letter available on the website.

The group has also published an open letter to the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, respectfully urging him to establish an inquiry to uncover the truth and reform the system.

Ladies with Letters, a collective of women directly impacted by the cervical screening review, came together to campaign for transparency and demand accountability. The group has been tirelessly searching for answers as to what went wrong and how a litany of failures was allowed to continue for so shockingly long. Yet, despite their efforts, they are still no further forward in having these concerns properly addressed.

To date, it has cost two young mothers their lives, Erin Harbinson from Tandragee and Lynsey Courtney from Portadown. Eight other women whose smear tests were misread by screeners went on to develop cancer and a further 11 women’s tests were found to have pre-cancerous cells and required treatment.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Tracey Bell from Banbridge said, “Beyond these cases that we are aware of so far, we are fearful about the ramifications for women’s health in the future. We believe this scandal represents one of the most significant healthcare failures to occur in Northern Ireland in decades. What’s worse is that ladies diagnosed with cervical cancer prior to 2019 will not even have been told if their smear test was read incorrectly – women would have to proactively seek out that information themselves and that has not been widely publicised.”

Tracey added, “Tests were sent to other labs to be reviewed to see if they had been read correctly, even a lab which had its accreditation suspended at the time; but we now know that recent data released after intervention by the Information Commissioner reveals that underperformance in cervical screening was identified across all four cervical screening laboratories in Northern Ireland, with screeners failing to meet target detection rates for abnormalities, so results from the review are far from reassuring. It is our view that this public health scandal remains a grave and unfolding concern.”

Heather Thompson, a retired nurse from Tandragee, said,
“The Health Minister for Northern Ireland has publicly committed to a Women’s Health Strategy. What better way to demonstrate that commitment than by establishing a statutory public inquiry into these failings? We believe that a full and thorough investigation is essential to uncover the truth and reform the system, so that no woman will face such uncertainty again and to try to restore some faith in the cervical screening programme.”

The UK’s leading gynaecological cancer charity, The Eve Appeal, supports the call for more information and transparency around this issue. Athena Lamnisos, CEO said:
“Cervical cancer is the only cancer with an effective screening programme (to detect high risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which causes nearly all cervical cancers and, if this is present on cervical screening tests, any precancerous cells), offering us the opportunity to prevent cancer development or to detect it at the very earliest stage. It’s shocking that the quality assurance and other systems within screening, let women down in Northern Ireland – and over such a long period of time. As a charity, we fully support transparency and accountability across healthcare. This is a patient group who need answers. Undoubtedly, more may develop this disease in the years to come. We look forward to the Northern Ireland Minister’s response on this issue in the coming weeks.”

For further information, please contact Alana Taylor on 07749146261 or Dawn Hesketh-Guilfoyle on 07920210836.