Labour cancer leaflets trigger row
By politics.co.uk staff
Tempers have been raised after the Conservatives accused the Labour party of targeting cancer sufferers with leaflets.
Thousands of leaflets have been sent out to women saying the Conservatives would scrap Labour guarantees for suspected breast cancer patients.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the leaflets “shocked” him and demanded an apology from his counterpart, Andy Burnham.
“It is shameful that the Labour Party have decided to deliberately scare and misrepresent what we have said,” he said.
“I am actually rather shocked that they are trying to target breast cancer patients and alarm them by making up stories about that the Conservative Party would do.”
But Labour denies specifically targeting cancer sufferers.
“The Labour party would never specifically target any material at people suffering from a medical condition,” a spokesman said.
“Over the past months, Labour has sent out literature on a range of issues including the cancer guarantee.
“Obviously we would never mean to cause offence to anyone, especially to anyone suffering from cancer. It is because we want to give the best treatment and to support those affected by cancer that we introduced the cancer guarantee.”
