Jeremy Corbyn has said 451 pages of unredacted documents obtained by
Labour prove the NHS is “for sale” in a post-Brexit trade deal being negotiated between
Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.
Brandishing the papers at a press conference in
London, the Labour leader said the papers detailing talks between
UK and US officials showed the prime minister’s denials were in “absolute tatters”.
“We have now got evidence that under Boris Johnson the NHS is on the table and will be up for sale. He tried to cover it up in a secret agenda and today it has been exposed,” Corbyn said.
The document, handed out to reporters, said the US was demanding “total market access” for US companies to all UK service sectors.Including the dossier is a warning from US negotiators that “patent issues” related to “NHS access to generic drugs” would be a “key consideration going forward”.
Corbyn argued this proved NHS drug prices would increase in any deal signed by Johnson with Trump.
The papers also said the US was pushing for a no-deal
Brexit to facilitate a trade agreement.According to the dossier, the US wants no mention of climate change to be made in any deal and for talks to cover a range of sectors including workers’ rights, data privacy and gender discrimination rules. The documents said meetings between US and UK officials had taken place in
Washington and London.
A Conservative Party source said: “Jeremy Corbyn has always believed in conspiracy theories which is part of the reason he is in so much trouble now.
“These unfounded and untrue claims are a cynical and deliberate attempt to distract from his lack of Brexit plans and lack of apology.”
The announcement came following a bruising day of questioning for Corbyn about his tax plans and anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.“They are not getting it, I can’t be more clear… Simply not on the table, we are not interested” Conservative Liz Truss said the UK would “walk away” from talks if the price of a US trade deal meant higher drugs prices #politicslivehttps://t.co/zUrURXMufmpic.twitter.com/wI2Xi7zjPv—
BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) November 21, 2019Earlier this year, Trump said the NHS was “on the table” in trade talks before quickly reversing his position following an outcry in the UK.
Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, has insisted the NHS is “not on the table” in any talks. “The price the NHS pays for drugs is not on the table, and the services the NHS provides are not on the table. Not ever on our watch,” she has said.
HuffPost UK revealed yesterday the government considered changing the law to ensure the NHS was kept out of post-Brexit UK-US trade talks, but pulled back because it concluded the public did not believe Labour warnings about the possibility.Related... 5 Stand-Out Moments From Jeremy Corbyn's Bruising Interview With Andrew Neil Exclusive: Tories Pulled Back From Legislating To Protect NHS In US Trade Talks