Jeremy Corbyn says the documents show that America wants the NHS on the table in trade talks and leave Boris Johnson's denials "in absolute tatters."
ADVERTISEMENTJeremy Corbyn has put Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) firmly on the election agenda, saying 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.
The opposition Labour leader revealed the previously-released redacted documents, which come from a series of secret US-UK trade negotiations between July 2017 and July 2019, at an election news conference.
"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."
In response, the prime minister maintained that “the NHS is not on the table in any way … in no aspect, whatever”.
So what exactly do the documents show?
While the documents do contain mentions of the NHS, as well as instances of US negotiators discussing pharmaceutical patents, there is no clear indication that the UK agreed with this US stance.
Instead, the documents represent explorative talks over potential trade deals and the NHS was not included in any firm agreement.
Alex Morgan has more in The Cube, viewable in the video player above.