A breast cancer screening error affecting 450,000 women which may have led to hundreds of lives being cut short has been described as 'appalling' by a Dorset MP.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the House of Commons yesterday that a "computer algorithm failure" dating back to 2009 had meant many women aged 68 to 71 were not invited to their final routine screening.

It is not known whether any delay in diagnosis resulted in avoidable death, but it is estimated that between 135 and 270 women had their lives shortened as a result, he said.

An independent review has been launched into the "serious failure" in the programme, overseen by Public Health England (PHE), which was discovered in January.

South Dorset MP Richard Drax, said: "All of us are appalled that this sort of thing can be missed. To have even one person have their life unnecessarily shortened is a tragedy.

"A technical mistake was made but the issue was raised to the House as the earliest opportunity and the government is doing all it can. They are contacting the 309,000 women who were not invited for a screen and are thought to be alive and 65,000 letters are going out this week. The government is also making contact with next of kins to those who were not invited for a screen and who have since died to apologise."

He added: "When I was a journalist I did many interviews with women diagnosed with breast cancer. It is a life-changing experience and the last thing they need is for technology to fail and for them to not receive the treatment they required.

"We now live in a world where we are relying more and more on technology, but when it fails the consequences are so serious.

"I would like to extend my apologies, my regret and my sadness to anyone affected by this, especially to anyone from my constituency."

Speaking yesterday, Mr Hunt told the Commons that there may be between 135 and 270 women who had their lives shortened as a result of the failure.

Women in England aged between 50 and 70 are currently automatically invited for breast cancer screening every three years and should receive their final invitation between their 68th and 71st birthday.

The 309,000 women affected and still alive will be offered the opportunity for a catch-up NHS breast screening test this year.

The decision follows analysis by Public Health England (PHE) dating back to 2009, which found that a number of invitations for a final test had not been sent out to women.

The problem was identified in January 2018. PHE carried out a thorough investigation and the fault has now been identified and fixed.

Women who did not receive their final routine invitation and are registered with a GP are being contacted and offered the opportunity to have a catch up screen. All of these women will be contacted by the end of May 2018. Women can seek advice by calling the helpline on 0800 169 2692.

PHE anticipate that all re-screens will be completed by the end of October 2018 and extra capacity is being identified so that routine screening will not be affected.

Dr Jenny Harries, PHE deputy medical director said: "On behalf of NHS breast screening services, we apologise to the women affected and we are writing to them to offer a catch-up screening appointment. They and their families’ wellbeing is our top priority and we are very sorry for these faults in the system."