Liam Fox vows NHS will remain ‘off limits’ to US corporations after Brexit
Dr Fox insisted there would not be a threat to the NHS 'on his watch'
LIAM Fox slammed the door last night to US companies bidding for NHS contracts.
One of the American’s biggest asks for a future trade deal was branded “off limits” by International Trade Secretary during a grilling by MPs.
And he blasted scaremongering about the NHS being sold off after Brexit, comparing it to urban myths about “on a par with alligators in sewers”.
And Dr Fox used his appearence before the International Trade Select Committee to announce that British trade negotiators will fly the USA within days to begin work on a free trade deal.
Firing the starting gun on a post-Brexit “scoping” exercise, he declared he would be leading a party to Washington DC in the coming weeks, but insisted that there would not be a threat to the NHS “on my watch”.
His comments were echoed by Theresa May at PMQs, who came under fire from Jeremy Corbyn.
The Labour chief pushed: “Last week I also asked you to assure the House that in any United States trade deal you would not offer up our National Health Service as a bargaining chip — you gave no answer.”
“When asked in the US you also refused to rule it out,” he added.
“So let’s ask a third time - will you rule out opening up our National Health Service to private US healthcare companies, yes or no?”
The PM hit back claiming: “The NHS is not for sale and it never will be.”
Liam Fox had earlier moved to quell fears of an NHS sell off under aggressive questioning from Labour MP Shabana Mahmood.
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He insisted: “It’s not been part of our approach to go into these agreements and sacrifice the right for government to regulate public services.
“As the person who will be negotiating, I can say it would be not be happening on my watch.”
In an hour long Commons appearance Dr Fox did concede that the UK would likely miss his department’s target of £1 trillion of exports by 2020.
He called the target a “suitable ambition” but admitted the timetable was to slip.
“I think it’s unlikely to be achieved by 2020,” he said, adding: “I think it is an achievable target in the years thereafter.”