The NHS trust running hospitals serving Redbridge has the longest waiting times in London for potential cancer patients, it has emerged.

NHS figures show Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) saw just 79.5 per cent of cancer referrals within 14 days, while many other trusts across the country achieve 100 per cent.

Over the three month period between April and June, 156 patients were not seen by a specialist until almost a month after being referred.

BHRUT, currently in special measures with a debt of around £40million, operates Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Goodmayes.

The figures come just two weeks after charity Macmillan named it in its bottom 10 in the country for patients' cancer treatment experience.

There is only one other trust in the country that saw suspected cancer patients slower than BHRUT.

The Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which covers hospitals in the West Midlands, saw just 76.2 per cent of cancer patients within 14 days.

Barts Health NHS trust, which runs Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, also missed the target for referrals.

It saw just 84.2 per cent of patients within two weeks.

BHRUT has been contacted for a response.