Labour claims NHS 'on the table' in Boris Johnson US trade talks

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says he has more than 450 pages of unredacted documents that show that Boris Johnson's government has put the NHS 'on the table' as part of a future post-Brexit trade deal with the United States.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Corbyn brandished the documents claiming that the British health service was not safe in Johnson's hands and that Labour "will never use the NHS as a bargaining chip" in trade talks with the US.

Johnson, who has always denied the NHS is on the table in any discussions with the US over a deal, branded the claims "total nonsense" and said he gave a "cast-iron guarantee" that it would not be. 

"Perhaps he (Johnson) would like to explain why these documents confirm the US is demanding the NHS is on the table in the trade talks," Corbyn told a news conference.

"These uncensored documents leave Boris Johnson's denials in absolute tatters."

The news comes just two weeks before the UK goes to the polls and at a time when polling shows Labour closing the gap with Johnson's Conservative party.

It also comes a day after an interview Corbyn gave on national television that was described as a "car crash" by much of the UK media.

The Conservative Party press office told Euronews that a statement would be issued shortly.