THE Government has been accused of ‘trivialising’ families’ concerns over a controversial hormone pregnancy test drug.

Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi has hit out at the announcement of a new review into the drug Primodos, which was given to 1.5 million women between 1953 and 1975.

Little Lever mum Nichola Walton is among those who claim to have been born with birth defects because of the drug and has campaigned with Ms Qureshi for a full inquiry into its effects.

This week, health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced a new review into how the NHS responds to patient concerns over Primodos — but the MP is unhappy that two other issues, vaginal mesh and sodium valproate, are also part of the review.

Ms Qureshi, who is chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hormone Pregnancy Tests, said that campaigners deserve nothing less than a full inquiry into the issue.

She said: “The campaigners and I have lost confidence in the Government’s ability to lead a review on Primodos.

“Only last year they spent vast amounts of public funds on producing a review that was widely termed a ‘whitewash’. It changed its own terms of reference, filtered evidence, and sidelined the victims for whom it was set up.

“This latest announcement has trivialised the seriousness of the issues at the heart of our campaign, in combining them with other, very different issues — mesh implants and sodium valproate.

“We have new scientific evidence that shows Primodos can harm embryos, and we have thousands of documents that expose a cover-up.

“1.5 million women took the drug Primodos, so this makes it a scandal on a similar scale to contaminated blood. And that is why, anything less than a judge-led independent public inquiry is not good enough.

“The families and victims have waited over 40 years for answers, they deserve better than this.”

The review will be chaired by Baroness Julia Cumberlege, who the Labour MP says she also has little faith in.

Ms Qureshi added: “I also have serious concerns about the independence of Baroness Cumberlege, who has close links with both the Department of Health and the Pharmaceutical Industry.

“We have very little confidence in her ability to investigate the wrongdoings of those with whom she closely associates.”

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Theresa May said that concerns over Primodos had highlighted problems with the healthcare system.

She added: “I have been clear that we need to do better.

“We do need to see a faster, more understanding response to patients when they raise concerns.”

A study published this month

Marie Lyon, chair of the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests, said: “We are disappointed that the three campaigns are being reviewed together.

“We are not prepared to support this proposal without consultation and agreed terms of reference.”