Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined a group of prominent figures in calling on the UK Health Secretary to introduce a targeted national screening programme for men at high risk of prostate cancer.

Sunak said he had joined Stephen Fry, former Prime Minister David Cameron, filmmaker Steve McQueen, television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Jones and actor Colin McFarlane in writing to the Health Secretary on the issue.

According to Sunak, prostate cancer is now the most common cancer among men in Britain and kills one man every 45 minutes. He said Black men have a one-in-four lifetime risk of developing the disease, while men with a father or brother who has had prostate cancer face a similarly elevated risk.

Sunak said the UK National Screening Committee in May declined to extend screening beyond a group of about 1,500 men with a specific genetic variant. He argued that other men at high risk do not currently have guaranteed access to screening.

He said more than 250 MPs from across the political spectrum have called for a targeted national screening programme, while more than 100,000 people have signed a petition supporting the proposal.

Sunak said a targeted programme focused on men at highest risk would cost about £25 million a year, which he described as 0.01% of the NHS budget.

The group is calling on the Health Secretary to reconsider the National Screening Committee’s recommendation, introduce a targeted national screening programme and act before further trial data expected over the next decade becomes available.