Government will protect NHS during US trade talks

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted any trade deal with the US must protect the NHS, as he set out the government’s battle lines ahead of the negotiations.

The government has sent negotiators to Brussels to kick-start the nine-month process of vying to secure a new trade arrangement with the EU, with the EU not favouring Johnson's push for a comprehensive Canada-style free trade deal, as well as demands overfishing, state subsidies and standards.

With trade negotiations also being held with the US, the government has again said it remains committed to keeping the NHS universal and free at the point of use, with a spokesperson for the Prime Minister saying that they will work to ‘rigorously protect the UK’s freedom to provide public services, such as the NHS, in the national interest’.

The Labour Party has accused ministers of making ‘false promises’ over commitments to protect the NHS and standards.

Barry Gardiner, Shadow International Trade Secretary, said: "This is a government that has sought, at every opportunity, to resist efforts to lock in our high standards and to ensure robust protections for our NHS. Their false promises are meaningless - they have said they won't undercut our food standards while briefing that chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef are perfectly acceptable. That is why there must be a full and proper scrutiny process for this and all trade agreements."