Corby MP raises plight of 14-year-old Max Hall at PMQs as he urges government to ‘move at pace’ with brain tumour research

Corby and East Northamptonshire MP Lee Barron (Lab) put forward questions relating to Max’s condition, asking the government to accelerate brain tumour research and asking why research into the condition remains ‘underfunded.’

In Parliament this morning, Mr Barron said: “Max Hall is 14-years-old and should be worrying about school, football, friends and what he wants to be when he grows up. Instead, he is living with a high grade brain tumour and there is no cure available to him.

“His parents Jackie and Stephen want to know why are children still being diagnosed with brain tumours and being told there are no treatment options available?

“Why has brain tumour research remained so underfunded when brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer and why are families like them left to search for hope themselves?

"This Prime Minister has done so much to strengthen our NHS, so does he agree with me that we need to move at pace and do much more to offer hope to Max and his family and families like his who are facing this unequally devastating disease?”

In response, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “My thoughts and the thoughts of the whole house are with Max and his family in what must be the most awful of circumstances.

"Through our cancer trials accelerator programme, we’ll make it easier to launch innovative new clinical trials and find new treatment, and for people like max, that will make young people’s cancer a research priority, make clinical trials more accessible, and pay for travel costs for care.

“I hope that comes as some comfort but as a parent I can’t imagine what his parents are going through, given the circumstances that he faces, and I know a minister will be happy to meet with Max and his family.”

Max Hall is a 14-year-old boy from Corby who was diagnosed with a high grade glioma in late 2025.

Max’s family has long campaigned for more brain tumour research and treatment in the UK, with most being life-prolonging rather than curative.

Max’s mum, Jackie Hall, penned a letter to MPs, asking for more funding for brain tumour treatment, as it has ‘remained so underfunded for so long’, despite killing more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer.

In her open letter to Members of Parliament, Jackie said: “Every day we are told about future promises, future plans, future commitments, future investment. Yet families living this nightmare do not have the luxury of time.

“Children with aggressive brain tumours cannot wait years for discussions, consultations, reports and strategies.

“They need action now. We need meaningful investment in brain tumour research. We need greater access to clinical trials. We need faster pathways for innovative treatments. We need better awareness and earlier diagnosis. Most of all, we need answers.

“Because right now, from where I sit as Max’s mum, it feels as though children with brain tumours have been left behind.

“My son deserves more than sympathy. He deserves a future.”