Boots has been accused of failing to deliver on its promise to cut the price of emergency contraception for women.

In July the high street chemist sparked criticism by telling the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) it would not lower the price of the morning-after pill because it wanted to avoid "incentivising inappropriate use".

The company said its price tag was based on the cost of the medicine and the consultation the pharmacists carries out with women but it was "committed" to finding less expensive versions of the tablet.

It later announced 38 stores were offering a new, less expensive generic version of EHC (Levonorgestrel) at a cost of £15.99, adding it would be offered in all branches in October.

But more than 130 MPs, led by shadow public health minister Sharon Hodgson, have written to Boots' UK managing director Elizabeth Fagan to ask why the retailer has not yet provided the morning-after pill at a cheaper price in all of its stores.

The letter said Boots had admitted it was currently only providing the cheaper version in just 69 of its nearly 2,500 shops.

The letter noted a number of the stores listed as selling the £15.99 version did not appear to have it in stock.

The MPs said they are "deeply concerned" that Boots is "unable or unwilling to deliver" on the pledge.

Other pharmacists such as Superdrug and Tesco are selling the morning-after pill for £13.49. There are also online pharmacies that sell this for £4.

The MPs have called on Boots to consider reducing the price of its own-brand emergency contraception, currently priced at around £26, if it is experiencing difficulties sourcing the other version.

Ms Hodgson said: "As we enter the festive period - where women struggle to access contraceptive services and their usual family planning methods - it is crucial that Boots get their act together and roll out this cheaper emergency contraception as promised earlier in the year."

British Pregnancy Advisory Service director of external affairs Clare Murphy said: "We very much welcome this letter from Sharon Hodgson and her Labour colleagues.

"It is absolutely scandalous that Boots have failed to deliver on the clear pledge they made to roll out cheaper emergency contraception in all their stores.

"There can be absolutely no excuse for their pathetically slow pace of progress, other than the fact that they simply do not want to provide women with an affordable product."

A Boots spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately the manufacturer has experienced a batch failure due to quality issues which means that the stock we were expecting is not now available, and we are now waiting for a new batch to be produced.

"We thank our customers for their continued patience and reassure them that we are doing all we can to roll this service out to all our stores as soon as possible."

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