Starmer accused of diverting NHS 'billions' to appease Trump

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of diverting £3 cardinal of NHS backing a twelvemonth to appease Donald Trump.

Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat lawman leader, said taxpayers' wealth was being "rerouted astatine the petition of Donald Trump" from frontline NHS services "into the pockets of large pharmaceutical companies".

At the opening of December, the UK agreed to wage 25% much for caller medicines by 2035 to halt the US imposing commercialized tariffs connected pharmaceutical products.

The woody involves an summation successful the baseline threshold utilized to measure whether medicines tin beryllium offered by the NHS.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) volition summation the threshold by 25%: from £20,000-£30,000 to £25,000-£35,000.

The authorities says this means NICE volition beryllium capable to o.k. innovative medicines that present important wellness improvements but mightiness person antecedently been declined on cost-effectiveness grounds. It has suggested the woody volition outgo astir £1bn a twelvemonth by 2029.

Others, including the Lancet aesculapian journal, person said the outgo to the NHS volition beryllium £3bn. Exact costs volition beryllium connected however galore medicines are approved nether the caller system.

Ms Cooper said it was "outrageous" the statement was made without immoderate nationalist statement oregon parliamentary scrutiny - "just a determination by the Labour premier minister, Keir Starmer".

She called connected Sir Keir to "scrap this £3bn Trump tax" and alternatively put it successful societal care.

"There is nary uncertainty astatine each that this wealth volition not bring tons of caller drugs to our NHS," she said.

"Independent experts suggest it could conscionable beryllium 3 oregon four, perchance 5 astatine most.

"What this wealth volition bash is simply summation the magnitude of wealth that we volition wage for the existing drugs that we use, and it volition beryllium rerouted from frontline services...

"That is wherefore our connection is clear: Scrap this £3bn 'Trump tax' and hole societal attraction now."

When the US-UK cause pricing woody was announced, NHS leaders backed the government's appraisal that it would pb to tens of thousands of patients receiving groundbreaking caller drugs.

However, they warned the NHS receives excessively small backing to sorb the costs and said care, services and attraction budgets indispensable not beryllium raided.

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Whitehall sources claimed the hike successful cause prices volition not beryllium paid for retired of budgets for NHS services but from hundreds of millions of pounds fixed to the NHS past twelvemonth to screen the costs of the woody successful its aboriginal years.

Science Secretary Liz Kendall said the woody would "enable and incentivise beingness sciences companies to proceed to put and innovate close present successful the UK".

But Ms Cooper said the authorities needs to beryllium "standing strong" against Mr Trump arsenic helium lone understands "the connection of strength".

And she accused the authorities of being "all rotation and nary substance" arsenic she said it has held lone 1 gathering connected societal attraction aft promising to motorboat cross-party talks to hole societal attraction a twelvemonth ago.

Sky News has contacted the authorities for a comment.