Labour is demanding an immediate investigation into a “shameful” rise in mortality after three reports in recent days show a dangerous rise in additional deaths.

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, speaking in the House of Commons today demanded Jeremy Hunt set up a national inquiry, said:

“We are in the 8th year of a Tory government, and yet life expectancy is going backwards in the poorest parts of the country; infant mortality is rising and new research shows in the first 49 days of 2018 an additional person died every seven minutes. Shameful.

“Isn’t it time we had a full national inquiry into widening health inequalities and in the 70th year of the NHS will this government now bring an end to the underfunding, cuts, austerity and privatisation of our health services.”