“It’s time we launched a war on cancer and I’m working on a new vision to radically improve the outcome of cancer patients across the United Kingdom, and I’ll have more to say on this in due course.”

It came as analysis of official figures by Labour showed almost half of women given an urgent referral for suspected breast cancer waited longer than the two-week target to see a specialist.

In total, 23,704 women – 48.2 per cent of all such referrals – waited more than two weeks to see a specialist in November. The figure is four times as many as the 5,280 in September, when 12.5 per cent of such referrals waited longer than two weeks.

On Tuesday, Wes Streeting, Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, who was treated for kidney cancer last year, told MPs about a man admitted to hospital with kidney cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and lungs, who died last Friday as a result of delays in care.

The Labour frontbencher said: “Last week, his wife contacted me in desperation because he had been unable to access treatment to clear a blockage in his lungs, because the thoracic ward at a nearby hospital had closed because of staffing shortages.

“After frantically, desperate chasing by his family and NHS staff, he was finally admitted to the Bristol Royal Infirmary last week, but unfortunately his condition had deteriorated so he couldn’t receive treatment.”