HUNDREDS of victims of a “silent scandal” involving a pregnancy drug linked to cancer are calling on the government to launch a public inquiry.

More than 300 people have formed the DES Justice UK (DJUK)  group for those affected by diethylstilbestrol, commonly known as DES, which is a synthetic form of the female hormone oestrogen.

DES was prescribed to pregnant women from 1940 to the 1970s to prevent miscarriage, premature labour and complications of pregnancy.

The drug was also used to suppress breast milk production, for emergency contraception and to treat menopausal symptoms in women.

In 1971, researchers linked DES exposure to a type of cancer of the cervix and vagina called clear cell adenocarcinoma, prompting regulators in the United States to say the drug should not be prescribed to pregnant women.

However, DES, which is also linked to breast, pancreatic and cervical cancer, among others, continued to be prescribed to pregnant women in Europe until 1978.

The new British group is made up of women who took the drug and their daughters, sons and granddaughters who have suffered medical problems such as infertility, reproductive abnormalities and increased risk of cancer.

About 300,000 women in this country are estimated to have been prescribed the drug.

Compensation schemes have been set up for DES victims in the US and Netherlands, but there is none in Britain.

Issy Taylor, 25, from Worcester, said her mother suffered fertility trouble after her own mother took the drug.

Ms Taylor, a spokeswoman for DES Justice UK, has herself experienced abnormal cervical cell changes.

She said: “The impact of this drug, not only on my family but countless others, has been devastating, both emotionally and physically.

“For the victims, there has been a breakdown of trust towards the government and medical institutions, who have lied to us and treated with contempt.”

Solicitor Clare Fletcher, a partner at law firm Broudie Jackson Canter which represents the group, said: “This is the silent scandal, with victims suffering in pain for decades with limited medical support and no government recognition for what they have been through.

“It is one of the most devastating pharmaceutical failures in UK history and the people whose lives have been marred by it deserve answers.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said that NHS England has been told to work urgently and closely with local cancer alliances to ensure that GPs are aware of the follow-up guidance for those exposed to DES.