Debate contribution: Cervical Screening Scandal Inquiry

Debate contribution by Mrs Michelle Guy on 3 November 2025.

MLA

Mrs Michelle Guy

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

3 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Cervical Screening Scandal Inquiry

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5213630

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. First, I pay tribute to the women at the heart of the scandal. Members from across the House have offered their support to the women who were impacted, some catastrophically, by the failures of the Southern Trust. It is right to start by acknowledging that. I also thank the DUP for its amendment. It adds to our original motion and reminds us that there are still some frailties in the system and that we need to get those answers to restore confidence. When I was co-opted to the Assembly, I got a message from my colleague Sorcha Eastwood telling me to check in with the Ladies with Letters campaign. Sorcha did not realise at the time that, when the news of the scandal broke, I was recovering from surgery for cervical cancer. Apologies, I did not expect to lose my composure. I did not realise at that time that I would have the opportunity to stand here as an MLA and advocate for those women. That is what I want to do today. I want to give voice to their pain, their anger and their ongoing determination to get truth and accountability. I want us to remember what we are talking about: 17,500 women had their smear test reviewed due to failings that stretched back over 13 years. Two women have died, and five children have lost their mother. They were not abstract mistakes.

They were not abstract mistakes; they were avoidable, life-altering errors that denied women the opportunity for early detection and treatment. Leona Patterson had three misread smear tests before she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at just 42. She told me:

"When you’re diagnosed with cancer and you go through treatment, you are changed. Going through what I have gone through, and knowing it was preventable, creates a different kind of anger. We shouldn’t have to fight for answers. If the Minister is really committed to women’s health, he would initiate this statutory public inquiry."

Sandra Courtney's daughter, Lynsey, died in 2018, aged only 30, after a misread smear test. Sandra asked me to read this out on her behalf:

"Lynsey tragically died in 2018 at the age of 30, through no fault of her own. At that time, I requested that the Trust undertake a review of the individuals involved, yet a consultant questioned the necessity of doing so. We were also assured that 'lessons had been learned.' However, seven years on, there is little evidence that meaningful lessons have been implemented. In light of this continued lack of transparency and accountability, will the Minister now agree to commission a thorough and robust statutory public inquiry into Lynsey's death and the conduct of the Southern Trust, to ensure that such a tragedy is not repeated?".

Heather Thompson, from the Ladies with Letters campaign, said:

"The only way forward in this dire situation is for the Minister to establish a Statutory Public Inquiry. Who knew this was happening? How did these failings continue for so long? Who will be held accountable? Only a public inquiry, with powers to compel evidence and testimony, can deliver the answers we deserve."

The Ladies with Letters are an inspiration not only in how they have campaigned but in how they have supported one another. They have been let down not only by the failures in the system but by the lack of urgency since. They have no confidence that the reports that will be published this week will give them the answers that they need. Confidence in the screening programme is fragile. Women must feel that they can trust the system. That trust can be rebuilt only through honesty, accountability and transparency, not through departmental reviews behind closed doors. Minister, nothing you can do now can undo what has happened, but you can choose truth over defensiveness and transparency over secrecy. Delay in itself is a decision, one that deepens the pain and prolongs injustice. Decide, Minister, and be straight with those women. A statutory public inquiry is not only justified but essential.

681 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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