The London Assembly is calling for the Mayor to increase the promotion of cervical cancer screening following a drop in the number of women being screened in the capital.

NHS figures have revealed that out of all the women in London eligible for the cervical cancer screening, only 65.7 per cent of them actually have the test.

With London having the lowest number of women in the country taking the test.

London Assembly member for Waltham Forest, Jennette Arnold, described this as “a worrying move in the wrong direction”, and called for the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to help.

Ms Arnold said: “Cervical screenings save lives and it’s clear that more must be done to encourage all eligible women to undertake them.

“It’s vital the Mayor takes action to address this serious health inequality. That’s why I’m backing calls for Sadiq Khan to look into how we can promote awareness of cervical screening in the capital.”

Cervical screening, also known as a smear test, looks for abnormal cells in the cervix that can develop into cancer.

She added: “The Government must also do their part by looking at how screenings can be made more accessible and ensuring that adequate resources are in place to enable the NHS to reach more women.”

Earlier this week Labour London Assembly spokesman for health, Onkar Sahota, wrote to Mr Khan, urging him to campaign to ensure that women in London get the test.

He said that the fall in screenings in London could be due to people moving about a lot more and fewer Londoners registering with a doctor.

The letter said: “It is vital that there is a high profile and sustained campaign of awareness raising across the capital. Can I urge you to commit, working with health and other partners, to campaign to ensure that women across London are aware of the cervical screening programme and how they can access it?”

Ms Arnold backed these calls.

Cervical Screening Awareness Week is currently running from June 11 to 17.