Mike Gapes, MP for Ilford South, has agreed to campaign to make musculoskeletal conditions like arthritis a public health priority.

Mr Gapes attended a parliamentary reception of Arthritis Research UK last week and said policy needs to be amended to ensure these conditions can be cured.

He said: “Musculoskeletal conditions affect a huge number of people and are a significant cause of disability in the UK.

“These are painful conditions which can have a massive impact on every aspect of people’s lives.

“We need to see change that creates the best possible policy environment in which to prevent and cure these conditions.”

Mr Gapes also called for “an urgent transformation” of the services available to those living with the conditions.

Musculoskeletal conditions also include osteoarthritis, back pain and osteoporosis.