Caroline and Nick Dearden, Director of Global Justice Now, have dismissed Lord Owen's claim that leaving the EU would protect the NHS. 

Caroline, who is a longstanding anti-TTIP campaigner, has said that leaving the EU 'will not remove the real threat' to the NHS. 

She said: 

“I have great respect for David Owen’s work on the NHS but I disagree with him about leaving the EU – which will not remove the real threat to our health service. That threat comes from the waves of marketisation ushered in by both Tory and Labour led Governments of recent years – a process which was put into overdrive by the Coalition with the Health and Social Care Act of 2012.

“TTIP does post a threat to the NHS, but leaving the EU won’t protect us from damaging trade deals. If we were to leave then the Tories – who are cheerleaders for TTIP- would pass equally dangerous bilateral trade deals which threaten our most valued public service. British MPs and MEPs have a chance to stop TTIP – it’s down to them to act in the NHS’ best interests and reject any deal which threatens our health service.

“The greatest threat facing our NHS comes in the form of pro-privatisation politicians passing damaging domestic legislation which cripples our health service."

“To save our NHS progressives need to rally around the NHS Reinstatement Bill. The Bill’s backers include the BMA, Unite, (with 100,000 members in the NHS), the President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, as well as great activists like Harry Leslie Smith, a raft of famous faces and many, many local NHS campaigners – that is where our efforts to save our NHS must lie.”

Nick Dearden, Director of Global Justice Now, said: 

"TTIP does pose a massive threat to the NHS, but that threat wouldn't be removed by Brexit. Many of the most frightening impacts of TTIP - the handover of more powers to corporations, the drive to remove important regulations protecting workers, consumers and the environment and the 'lock-in' of privatisation - are all policies that the UK government have pushed persistently for, and would continue to push for outside of Brussels. In fact every Brexit scenario to date is based on extreme free trade deals which would likely be even more far reaching than TTIP, and radical deregulation of the British economy."

ENDS

Contact: Matthew Butcher on 07885 459 904 or clucasmedia@parliament.uk