More girls aged 17 to 18 are to be offered vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV), a leading cause of cervical cancer. Dawn Primarolo, the Public Health Minister, said that an extra 300,000 girls could be included in the programme because it has chosen to use a cheaper vaccine.

The Department of Health was accused of false economy in buying Cervarix because, unlike its rival, Gardasil, it does not protect against genital warts.

Ms Primarolo sought to deflect the criticism yesterday by extending the programme using the money saved.

The Government intends to offer routine vaccinations to girls aged 12 to 13, starting this September. In addition, a two-year catch-up programme will start in the school year 2009-10 to vaccinate girls aged between 15 and 18.

The announcement yesterday means that girls who would not otherwise have been included in the programme will now be vaccinated during this school year.

Ms Primarolo said: “Our policy to vaccinate girls against cervical cancer is one of the biggest public health campaigns in recent history. It will mean that up to 400 girls' lives will be saved each year.

“By choosing the right vaccine we have been able to make savings, which means we can extend the programme to 17 and 18-year-olds. This could save an additional 400 lives.”

The vaccine will guard against the two strains of HPV that cause 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. The effects of the vaccine on cervical cancer will not be felt for a decade or more because the cancer takes a long time to develop.

Critics said that if Gardasil had been chosen a quicker result would have been achieved in the reduction of genital warts. Although they are not life-threatening they are an increasing problem. Gardasil has won most of the world market by combining protection against cervical cancer with that against genital warts.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: “The contract has been awarded for the vaccine that scored best overall against a number of pre-agreed criteria and offers best overall value to the NHS. The vaccination programme has always been about cervical cancer protection, irrespective of which vaccine was chosen. We chose the vaccine that best met this need.”

The authors of the study, which was published in the British Medical Journal, estimated that Cervarix (the bivalent vaccine) must cost £13 to £21 less per dose to be as cost-effective as Gardasil (the quadrivalent vaccine).

In an accompanying editorial, Jane Kim, from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US, said that the Department of Health seemed willing to forgo health benefits from averting cases of genital warts in return for the reduced cost of Cervarix.

She said: “The decision to select the bivalent vaccine implies that the department is willing to accept forgone health benefits (and additional cost savings) from averting cases of genital warts for the reduced financial outlay, which may be allocated to other priority investments in health.”

Lisa Power, of the Terrence Higgins Trust, the sexual health charity, said: “The Government has made a decision that appears to be cost-effective but not health-effective. They think it's cheaper to let people get genital warts and treat them than to prevent them. The cost of human misery has not been considered.”

A study last week calculated that the department could save up to £18.6 million a year by choosing the cheaper vaccine.

The extra young women offered vaccinations were born between September 1, 1990, and August, 31, 1991.

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