Smash hit

After meeting the Tory leader Kenneth and Lindsay Dixon delivered a letter to the Prime Minister at Downing Street asking him to ensure that “no family suffers like this again”. The case echoes previous controversies such as the “Jennifer’s ear” row which rocked the 1987 election and Sharron Storer who assailed Mr Blair outside a Birmingham hospital on the opening day of the 2001 campaign.

However, despite the support of Mrs Dixon’s family for the Tories’ campaign, Labour’s strategists believe that their opponents have blundered by picking a fight on the NHS which remains one of the Government’s strongest issues.

Yesterday Mr Blair said: “What the Conservatives are doing is trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes by picking on individual problems or unacceptable aspects of the system and trying then to run down the whole of the National Health Service.”

A Tory spokesman said: “Margaret Dixon speaks for herself. She has made perfectly clear that she has no political axe to grind.”

He continued: “Dealing with the media can be intimidating and so one press officer has been helping her.”

Mrs Dixon said that she was disappointed not to meet Mr Reid because she wanted to put over her point of view.TIMETABLE FOR TREATMENT

WEDNESDAY

Noon Michael Howard challenges Tony Blair over Margaret Dixon’s case

6pm Warrington Hospital announces that Mrs Dixon has been scheduled for operation on March 21

THURSDAY

9.30am Mrs Dixon’s husband, Ken, and daughter, Lindsay, meet Mr Howard

10am John Reid announces that he will go to Warrington to meet hospital staff

10.15am Mrs Dixon uses Tory media unit to invite Mr Reid

2pm Mr Reid arrives in Warrington

4.30pm Chief executive of hospital trust says Mrs Dixon’s operation was cancelled three times, not seven. Mr Reid says he has not been to see Mrs Dixon because the invitation came from Tories

5pm Tory press officer says: “We felt a moral obligation to help her with media inquiries”

6.30pm Mr Howard denies using Mrs Dixon as a pawn

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