Prime Minister agrees to meet Horsham breast cancer campaigners following Commons challenge

The Prime Minister has publicly reaffirmed his support for the Lobular Moon Shot Project and agreed to meet campaigners following a direct challenge in the House of Commons today (Wednesday, 14 October).

The announcement represents a significant development for the campaign, which was founded in Horsham, West Sussex, in May 2023 by filmmaker and former airline captain Tristan Loraine and his late wife, Dr Susan Michaelis.

The Lobular Moon Shot Project is calling for £20 million of ring-fenced Government funding over five years to support urgently needed discovery science research into invasive lobular breast cancer, a disease diagnosed in approximately 22 people every day in the UK and around 1,000 people worldwide.

During Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative MP Peter Fortune, who represents Bromley and Biggin Hill, challenged the Prime Minister over the Government's failure to respond to a letter signed by representatives of all Opposition parties supporting the campaign.

Mr Fortune told the House of Commons: "It has been 43 days since the Prime Minister received a letter signed by all Opposition parties expressing support for the Lobular Moon Shot Project, which seeks funding to fight the insidious disease that is lobular breast cancer. Sadly, no response has been received.

"When the Prime Minister was the Mayor of Greater Manchester, he committed to supporting the Lobular Moon Shot Project. Will he reaffirm that commitment from the Dispatch Box?"

The Prime Minister responded: "I will indeed, and I remember the meeting very well. I speak as someone whose family has been affected by breast cancer. I look forward to meeting the group again, perhaps with the hon. Gentleman and with other colleagues on all sides of the House."

The response marks an important moment for a campaign that has spent more than three years seeking greater recognition and dedicated research funding for one of the most commonly overlooked forms of breast cancer.

A Campaign Born in Horsham

The Lobular Moon Shot Project was established by Tristan Loraine and Dr Susan Michaelis after Susan's own experience of invasive lobular breast cancer exposed serious gaps in scientific understanding, diagnosis and treatment.

Despite undergoing mammograms and ultrasound examinations that failed to identify her disease, Susan was subsequently diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer.

The disease accounts for approximately 15 per cent of breast cancer diagnoses, yet there remains no treatment developed specifically for invasive lobular breast cancer.

Susan, a former airline pilot, scientist and internationally recognised aviation safety researcher, devoted the final years of her life to campaigning for greater investment in research.

She died on 9 July 2025, leaving behind a growing national campaign and a determination among its supporters to secure the scientific progress she believed patients deserved.

The campaign has since attracted extraordinary cross-party parliamentary support, with more than 460 MPs backing its objectives.

A Promise Made in Manchester

Today's exchange is particularly significant because the Prime Minister previously supported the campaign while serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

In June 2025, he agreed to chair an inaugural meeting of scientists at the Manchester Breast Centre, where approximately 30 researchers from across the UK and Europe gathered to identify eight priority research questions that could transform understanding of invasive lobular breast cancer.

That meeting helped establish the scientific foundations of the Lobular Moon Shot Project's £20 million funding proposal.

The Prime Minister's acknowledgement that he remembered the meeting, together with his commitment to meet campaigners again, will be welcomed by supporters who have repeatedly called for the Government to turn political recognition into research funding.

A Personal Legacy and a National Campaign

For Tristan Loraine, the campaign is inseparable from the memory of his wife.

Susan continued campaigning despite her deteriorating health and was among 22 women who stood in silence opposite Downing Street on 24 June 2025, representing the number of people diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer in the UK every day.

Just 15 days later, she died.

Her determination helped inspire further parliamentary activity, public demonstrations and a growing movement involving patients, families, scientists and politicians.

The campaign has consistently argued that dedicated discovery science research is essential to understanding why invasive lobular breast cancer behaves differently from other breast cancers, why it can be difficult to detect using conventional imaging and how more effective treatments might be developed.

The Next Step: £20 Million for Research

Although today's statement does not constitute a Government funding commitment, it offers campaigners an important opportunity to present their scientific proposal directly to the Prime Minister.

The proposed meeting would bring together representatives of the Lobular Moon Shot Project and parliamentarians from across the political spectrum.

Campaigners will now be hoping that the Prime Minister's renewed support leads to a firm timetable for discussions and, ultimately, a commitment to ring-fence £20 million over five years.

For the thousands of families affected by invasive lobular breast cancer, the significance of today's announcement lies not simply in the promise of another meeting, but in the possibility that years of campaigning may finally translate into meaningful scientific investment.

The Prime Minister has reaffirmed his support. The next question is whether the Government will provide the funding needed to turn that support into action.

Source: House of Commons Hansard, Prime Minister's Questions, 14 October 2026. Exchange between Peter Fortune MP and the Prime Minister.