Jeremy Corbyn today unveiled 451 pages of uncensored documents which he claims show the NHS is on the table in a Tory Brexit deal with the US.
In a bombshell press conference, the Labour leader wafted a huge sheaf of leaked papers – saying Boris Johnson “tried to cover it up… but today it’s been exposed.”
Mr Corbyn first showed heavily-redacted government documents, obtained by campaigners, relating to months of trade talks between the US and the UK.
But he then dramatically held up a second bundle – the uncensored versions.
Labour said they show US officials have worked on a “baseline” assumption of “total market access” in the UK – apparently without mentioning the NHS specifically.
Another section however shows “patent issues” around “NHS access to generic drugs will be a key consideration” in talks, according to Labour.
Mr Corbyn said the papers reveal US demands to make no mention of climate change in any deal, a US desire for a No Deal Brexit to facilitate a deal, and talks including sectors including financial services, workers’ rights and even gender discrimination rules.
It comes after weeks of denials from Boris Johnson, who claimed it was “completely untrue” and there were “no circumstances whatever” in which the NHS would be on the table in a post-Brexit trade deal.
“These documents confirm the US is demanding the NHS is on the table in trade talks,” Mr Corbyn claimed.
“These uncensored documents leave Boris Johnson ’s denials in absolute tatters”.
The documents were handed out by NHS doctors and nurses today at the dramatic press conference.
The exact content of the documents is still emerging, but Mr Corbyn said they related to key issues including drug prices – which are often far higher in the US.
Mr Corbyn said the papers related to six rounds of talks and, at one point, stated patent issues around “NHS access to generic drugs… will be a key consideration in talks”.
Another part of the papers, he claimed, showed US officials “have pushed hard for longer patents for US drug companies”.
And he claimed the papers show US officials want “total market access” as the baseline for talks.
source:Daily Mirror