Thousands of men are to be checked for prostate cancer in one of the first large-scale European trials of smart screening.

The pilot study, starting next week in Ireland, will combine a blood test with personal risk factors and an MRI scan to increase the accuracy of screening men in their 50s and 60s.

Up to now health experts have rejected population screening in the belief that the benefits of earlier cancer detection were outweighed by the risks that some men could have unnecessary biopsies and risky treatment they don’t need.

But the PRAISE-U study is an attempt to save lives in a more targeted way, filtering out men who don’t have cancer at an early stage, so they don’t come to any harm.

David Galvin, the head of the study and a surgeon at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, told Sky News that a safe, effective screening strategy was urgently needed.

“There is a tsunami of elderly patients coming towards us,” he said.

“There’s going to be a sharp rise in prostate cancer unless we have a way to detect the disease early and not burden our health care services with vast numbers of scans and biopsies.”

Thousands diagnosed too late

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in Ireland. In the UK it is now the most common of all cancers, causing more deaths than breast cancer.

There are no symptoms in the early stages. Around 12,000 men a year in the UK alone are diagnosed too late to cure.

Studies have shown that a blood test for a prostate protein called PSA can diagnose cases at an earlier stage, reducing deaths by 40%.

But not all men with cancer have high levels of the PSA protein.

And conversely, high levels can also be caused by other prostate conditions, infections, exercise and sexual activity.

The unreliability of the test has held back its use for screening.

But in the Irish pilot study, men will be scored by their PSA level and whether they have other risk factors such as black ethnicity or a family history.

Those at low risk will be retested in future.

Around half of the men will undergo a detailed MRI scan of their prostate to check for tumours – and only half those will then need a biopsy, in which a needle is inserted to extract cells for a precise diagnosis.

Professor Galvin said the multi-stage screening meant only those who really need a biopsy will have one.

“I worked out that if you have the PSA test, there’s about a 1 in 40 chance that you will ultimately need a biopsy.

“The other 39 men are reassured that testing is all normal and they don’t have any clinically significant disease.”

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‘I got away with it by the skin of my teeth’

The PRAISE-U study is backed by the European Association of Urology and funded by the EU.

Around 8,000 men in Waterford and two areas of Dublin will be randomly invited for screening over the next year.

Tony Ward, a rugby legend and one of the best number 10s to play for Ireland, was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer just over a decade ago. Even now he needs daily treatment and regular scans.

He told Sky News screening to detect cancer at an earlier stage is desperately needed.

“It’s everything, it’s massive,” he said.

“I did not have the early diagnosis, but I got away with it by the skin of my teeth.”

‘Very curable cancer kills 12,000 men every year’

The UK’s National Screening Committee, which advises the Department of Health, is reviewing the evidence on prostate cancer screening. But it’s already taken two years, and a decision still isn’t due until the end of 2025.

Chiara De Biase, director of health services, equity and improvement from Prostate Cancer UK, said men were dying unnecessarily as a result.

She said: “12,000 men die every year from what is – when caught in its earliest stages – a very, very curable cancer.

“We think the evidence [for screening] is there and we can’t see why this has taken so long.”

A spokesperson for the UK government’s Department of Health and Social Care said: “Prostate cancer patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment, and we are determined to change that.

“Our National Cancer Plan will transform the way we treat cancer, making the UK a world leader in cancer survival by fighting the disease on all fronts, through improving research, diagnosis, screening, treatment and prevention.

“The UK National Screening Committee is reviewing the evidence for prostate cancer screening programmes, including targeted approaches for men at higher risk.”

The Army’s failure to properly deal with a soldier’s sexual assault complaint played “more than a minimal” role in her death, a coroner has said.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead in her room at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on 15 December 2021.

An inquest today recorded a conclusion of suicide “after a prolonged period of stress after harassment by her line management and problems with a relationship”.

Gunner Beck complained to her family about thousands of unwanted messages from her line manager, Ryan Mason, in the months leading up to her death.

He also wrote a 14-page document detailing his “feelings towards Jaysley” and paid for rooms next to each other during a work trip a week before she died, the inquest heard.

Wiltshire Police told the inquest evidence did not support a harassment case against Mr Mason, who is now a driving instructor.

Gunner Beck also formally complained to the Army about the behaviour of Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber, then 39.

She said he’d pinned her down and tried to kiss her after a drinking game during a team-building event in July 2021.

Gunner Beck, who joined the Army at 16, ended up sleeping in her car as she was so scared, the hearing in Salisbury was told.

WO Webber was given a “minor sanction” and wrote an apology letter – but was later promoted to Warrant Officer 2 rank

Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said the Army should have reported the alleged incident to police instead of treating it with a “minor administrative action”.

He said this failure was “more than a minimal contributory factor” in Gunner Beck’s death.

An Army report in October 2023 described “an intense period of unwelcome behaviour” and said it was “almost certain this was a causal factor” in her death.

Staff Sergeant Cory Budd, who said he’d been in a relationship with Gunner Beck at the time of her death – while he was still married, found her body.

Police concluded there was no third-party involvement.

The coroner said that despite Jaysley being three times over the drink-drive limit when she died, he was satisfied she had still intended to take her own life.

Gunner Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, attended the inquest with her partner and daughter.

Speaking outside court, she said her Jaysley was “bright”, “fantastic at her job” and exactly what the Army was looking for.

Ms McCready said no apology could bring her back and called for the Army to be stripped of the power to conduct its own investigations into harassment and bullying cases.

She said victims often feel like they can’t speak up and that “no one should have to suffer in silence”.

‘It’s weighing me down’

Ms McCready had told the court how her daughter “did not feel safe” as the situation with her line manager intensified, with Ryan Mason sending 3,600 messages in November 2021.

In one reply, she wrote: “This whole falling in love with me… it’s becoming a bit too much, I have just come out of a relationship and I’m just not wanting to be involved in anything like this.

“It’s weighing me down a little bit, I’ll be totally honest with you.”

The inquest also heard how Gunner Beck had been too afraid to return to her room after the alleged assault by WO Webber, locking herself in her car and making a complaint in the morning.

A colleague said she had been “frightened and in tears” and described her superior allegedly “waiting for a moment for them to be alone” before pinning her down and trying to kiss her.

Ms McCready said her daughter had been angered by the apology letter – which ended by saying his “door was open” for her.

The Army report said this was “possibly a factor that may have influenced her failure to report other events that happened subsequently”.

Its report also highlighted family issues, including bereavement, as playing a part in Gunner Beck’s death – but her family rejects this.

The Army report outlined three “contributory factors”, including:

• The “significant strain” of a sexual relationship with a married colleague in the last few weeks of her life;
• A relationship which ended in November 2021 which involved “repeated allegations of unfaithfulness on the part of the boyfriend”;
• An “unhealthy approach to alcohol, with episodes of binge drinking”.

WO Webber and Mr Mason declined to answer a number of questions at the inquest relating to their alleged behaviour towards Gunner Beck.

George Higgins, a former sergeant, also declined to answer questions about whether his relationship with Gunner Beck had begun when she was a recruit in Harrogate.

Army: ‘We should have done more’

Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of the army personnel services group, said it accepts failures were made.

“We let her down in so many ways for which we have already apologised, and if I can apologise again, for what it’s worth, I would do,” she said.

“On a personal level, listening to the doubt and the fear that she had, the good encouragement of her friends to report, but the lack of confidence that they had in reporting, and the well-meaning but erroneous actions of the chain of command, I have found personally very grieving.

“We could have, and we should have, done more.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

The suspect in the fatal shooting of a woman outside a pub in Kent is believed to be dead, police have said.

Lisa Smith, 43, was killed after she was shot outside a pub in Main Road, Knockholt, on the evening of Friday 14 February.

A car, driven by a man known to Lisa, was later found abandoned on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford.

Police say a handgun was found inside the vehicle, and enquiries have since established that the suspect entered the water below.

In an update on Thursday, Detective Chief Inspector Dave Higham, from Kent Police, said: “We have carried out a full and extensive investigation into Lisa’s tragic murder and our enquiries have concluded that the suspect is believed to have died after falling into the River Thames.

“Multiple searches of several areas of the river have since been assisted by the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade and Coastguard, but at this stage we have not recovered a body.

“These searches are ongoing and whilst our investigation will continue, we will be preparing our findings and reports to assist the coroner.

“This murder has led to the senseless loss of a beloved daughter and mother and our thoughts remain with Lisa’s family.”

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While officers said the victim and suspect were known to each other, they have not revealed how they are connected.

Michelle Thomas, who runs The Three Horseshoes pub near Sevenoaks, told Sky News she heard two loud bangs that she initially “thought were fireworks” on the night of the shooting.

She said there was “so much commotion – screaming, shouting, crying” and the attack had left the community in “absolute shock”.

She said the victim, Ms Smith, had been to the pub before “mostly in the summer” but “wasn’t a regular”.