A trainee midwife from Croydon was among three students to receive a surprise invitation to Downing Street.

At the launch for the Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery’s new report, Natasha Farnon, 28, said: “To find myself in the same room as Gordon Brown, listening to him speaking so supportively about the role that all midwives and nurses could and should play in boosting standards was an absolutely amazing opportunity.”

The group of healthcare students all attend Kingston University and St George’s, University of London, and were accompanied by their Professor Fiona Ross who served as an expert adviser to the Commission.

Under the Commission’s new report, the government has pledged to make nursing more central to the planning of health and social care.

Ms Farnon found the event inspirational, and said: “It made me feel even more committed to midwifery as a career.”