AN SNP MP has slammed the Tory Government for pursuing a US-UK trade deal with a "president who simply can't be trusted".
At PMQs today Kirsty Blackman asked the Government why it is "so obsessed with pursuing a trade deal that puts Scotland’s NHS at risk".
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump claimed that the NHS was "on the table" in a future trade deal.
"The truth is, under this government, Scotland won’t have a veto – we may not even get a say"
— Tom French (@tomfrench85) June 5, 2019
SNP Westminster Deputy Leader @KirstySNP challenges the Tory government on its plans to put Scotland's NHS at risk in a Brexit trade deal with Donald Trump #NHSNotForSale #Brexit #PMQs pic.twitter.com/O9N6L8AvPx
David Lidington, who stepped in for Theresa May during the questions, responded: "The Government is not putting the NHS at risk in Scotland or anywhere else and the Prime Minister has made that very clear indeed."
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The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster then attacked the SNP's record on the health service.
"What I fear is putting at risk standards in the NHS in Scotland is the SNP’s obsession with constitutional matters and a referendum, rather than focusing on the better delivery of public services.”
The SNP's Westminster leader defended the Scottish Government's performance, pointing out Scotland has "the best performing NHS in the UK, with the highest number of GPs per head of population".
Blackman continued: "If this week has proven anything, it has proven there is no guarantee that our NHS is safe. In 2014, Westminster promised Scotland’s NHS would be in public hands for as long as the people of Scotland wanted it.
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"But now, this Tory government is actively working to deny the Scottish Parliament the powers to safeguard our NHS and protect our public services. The truth is, under this government, Scotland won’t have a veto. We may not even have a say.
"The Scottish Government will never allow our precious NHS to be signed away in a Tory-Trump trade deal. If the minister and his fellow MPs cannot make that same pledge here, today, they will never ever be forgiven."
Today, Trump backtracked on his claim that the NHS would be on the table in a trade deal.
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