Luciana Berger MP, Labour’s Shadow Public Health Minister, responding to ‘Why Children Die’ from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said:

“This report reveals that preventable child deaths are more likely to affect the poorest families. That is an appalling fact and a tragedy not befitting a civilised country.

“At present, the Government is heading away from the solutions offered by this report. David Cameron has shelved plans for a minimum alcohol price, reduced the support for stop-smoking services and failed to deliver the new midwives he promised.

“David Cameron must explain why children in the UK are more likely to die prematurely than elsewhere in Europe and immediately tackle these health inequalities.”