Widow of MP in plea over lung cancer aid

THE WIDOW of James Brokenshire, who died after suffering from lung cancer, has called for a national screening programme for the disease to improve poor survival rates.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the former Minister’s death at the age of 53 in October, Cathy Brokenshire said she was determined to help others avoid a similar fate.

She said: “I miss him on a daily basis, he was my best friend. But I’ve got no choice and I have to get on with it. We’ve got three kids and I can either sit and cry my eyes out and be in a heap on the floor, or I can try and bring some positivity from what has happened to us as a family and help promote the cause.”

Mrs Brokenshire wants to help break down the stigma surrounding lung cancer, with many people incorrectly believing it is only caused by smoking.

She said: “He [Mr Brokenshire] never smoked and my understanding is 15 per cent or more people that suffer with lung cancer never smoked. People’s natural assumption is, ‘well they bought it on themselves because they smoked, everybody knows not to smoke’. But that clearly isn’t how it happened to him.”

Mr Brokenshire, who served as Northern Ireland Secretary and Security Minister, was first diagnosed with the disease after coughing up a small amount of blood in 2017.

Mrs Brokenshire was speaking ahead of a ceremony to name a Southeastern Railway train after her husband at London’s Cannon Street Station today. As the Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, he had worked to get more services on the line.