Jeremy Corbyn shows redacted documents 'proving' Tories' plan to sell the NHS under Boris Johnson

Jacob Jarvis27 November 2019

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claims documents obtained by his party confirm the NHS would be on the table in post-Brexit trade talks with the US under a Tory government.

Mr Corbyn revealed 451-pages of "unredacted" information today and said it showed a "very different version of events" to details officially released by the Government.

He made the claims at an event in London, in which he again refused to apologise for alleged anti-Semitism within the Labour Party

Boris Johnson has blasted claims the NHS would be included in negotiations as "nonsense", while international trade secretary Liz Truss has likened Mr Corbyn's comments to "conspiracy theories".

Jeremy Corbyn brandishes the 451-page document
PA

Mr Corbyn, who insisted his party would never include the NHS in trade talks, said: "Perhaps he'd like to explain why these documents confirm the US is demanding the NHS is on the table in the trade talks.

“The uncensored documents leave Boris Johnson’s denials in absolute tatters."

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He said the documents detailed six rounds of meetings from July 2017 to "just a few months ago".

These took part in Washington and London, he said.

Boris Johnson vows the 'NHS is in no way on the table'

The documents indicated "everything is included unless something is specifically excluded", he added.

"We are talking here about secret talks for a deal with Donald Trump after Brexit. A deal that will shape our country’s future," Mr Corbyn said.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn clashed over a range of subjects in the first TV debate of the election campaign
Jonathan Hordle/ITV/Handout via Xinhua

"These reports pull back the curtain on the secrecy that’s being plotted for us all, behind closed doors, by the Conservative government. This is what they didn’t want you to know."

Copies of the document were handed out among the media in the event.

Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have both said the NHS would not be part of talks
AFP/Getty Images

"This election is now a fight for the survival of our National Health Service," said Mr Corbyn.

The PM said it was “total nonsense” to suggest that healthcare has been discussed in trade talks with the US.

Boris Johnson has refuted the comments from Jeremy Corbyn
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Speaking in the aftermath of Mr Corbyn's statement, Mr Johnson said: “It’s total nonsense. This is brought up time and again by the Labour Party as a distraction from the problems that they are having, particularly with the absence of leadership on stamping down on anti-Semitism and also the absence of leadership on the EU.”

The Conservative Party's press account, CCHQ Press, said the comments from Mr Corbyn were "increasingly desperate" and were a "transparent attempt to distract" from his own issues.

Cabinet minister Ms Truss, responding for the Tories, said: "People should not believe a word that he says - this stunt is simply a smokescreen for the fact that he has no plan for Brexit and that he has been forced to admit that he wants to increase taxes for millions of families.

"As we have consistently made clear: the NHS will not be on the table in any future trade deal and the price that the NHS pays for drugs will not be on the table. This sort of conspiracy theory fuelled nonsense is not befitting of the leader of a major political party."

Mr Corbyn has attacked Mr Johnson over the NHS at multiple points in the campaign, brandishing a redacted version of the document he now claims to have unveiled at him during a head-to-head debate.

The announcement from Mr Corbyn prompted the hashtag "not for sale" to begin trending.

On specific points, Mr Corbyn referred to medicine prices and said the documents showed discussions had been concluded between the two sides on lengthening patents, which he said would mean more expensive drugs.