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Tories hit back in NHS attack row NHS attack MEP rebuked by Cameron
(about 2 hours later)
The Conservatives have sought to reassure voters that the NHS is safe in their hands after one of their MEPs joined in with US attacks on it. David Cameron has sought to further distance himself from a Tory MEP who criticised the NHS on American TV - dismissing his views as "eccentric".
Daniel Hannan added his voice to criticism of Barack Obama's health reforms, telling US TV he "wouldn't wish" the NHS "on anyone". The Conservative leader insisted the NHS was his "number one priority" after Daniel Hannan described it as a "60 year mistake".
But shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the MEP's comments gave a "distorted" view of the health service. The MEP made his comments on US TV amid an increasingly bitter debate over Barack Obama's health reforms.
It came after PM Gordon Brown joined a Twitter campaign to defend the NHS. Labour and the Lib Dems claim his views are shared by many Conservatives.
But Mr Cameron said the NHS was a "great national institution" and that it was his party's "number one mission" to improve it.
What has happened within the last 48 hours is what Cameron has feared most because it lays bare the Tories' deep ambivalence towards the NHS Health Secretary Andy Burnham
"The Conservative Party stands four square behind the NHS," he told BBC News in his Oxfordshire constituency.
"We are the party of the NHS, we back it, we are going to expand it, we have ring-fenced it and said that it will get more money under a Conservative government, and it is our number one mission to improve it."
'Worst nightmare'
And he rebuked Mr Hannan, whose trenchant views on Europe and strongly-worded YouTube attack on Gordon Brown have gained him a following among grassroots Tories, saying: "He does have some quite eccentric views about some things, and political parties always include some people who don't toe the party line on one issue or another issue."
But Mr Hannan's comments have been seized on by Mr Cameron's political opponents.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham MP said: "What has happened within the last 48 hours is what Cameron has feared most because it lays bare the Tories' deep ambivalence towards the NHS.
"Their election strategy is not to talk about the NHS. Cameron knows there is deep hostility towards it within his ranks. Hannan is not the only one - many senior Tory MPs would privately agree with his comments.
"But by having to interrupt his holiday and being forced out on the defensive yesterday, Cameron had no choice but to lavish belated praise on Labour's NHS.
"Put simply, that's why it's his worst nightmare."
'Orwellian'
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb claimed Mr Hannan's views, far from being "maverick", were shared by "many people within the Conservative Party".
He also hit back at criticisms of the NHS from Republican-supporting critics of Obama's health bill as a "gross distortion" of the truth about Britain's health service.
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It comes after Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined a Twitter campaign to defend the NHS.
The welovetheNHS tag has received tens of thousands of messages of support during the past few days from NHS staff and former patients after it was branded "Orwellian" and "evil" by Republican critics of Mr Obama's health reforms.The welovetheNHS tag has received tens of thousands of messages of support during the past few days from NHS staff and former patients after it was branded "Orwellian" and "evil" by Republican critics of Mr Obama's health reforms.
The prime minister took the unusual step of adding his voice to the campaign in a message posted from Downing Street's Twitter feed, in which he said "thanks for always being there". His wife Sarah, also sent a message of support to the campaign.The prime minister took the unusual step of adding his voice to the campaign in a message posted from Downing Street's Twitter feed, in which he said "thanks for always being there". His wife Sarah, also sent a message of support to the campaign.
'Powerful examples' Many of the Twitter messages reacted angrily to Mr Hannan's criticism of the NHS, which he attacked on US TV, saying he "wouldn't wish it on anyone".
Tory leader David Cameron, who is not on Twitter, has also weighed in to defend the NHS, saying his party was 100% behind it. He has sent an e-mail message to supporters saying: "Millions of people are grateful for the care they have received from the NHS - including my own family.
What he said was both a negative view of the NHS, but more to the point was a distorted view of the NHS Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary
"One of the wonderful things about living in this country is that the moment you're injured or fall ill - no matter who you are, where you are from, or how much money you've got - you know that the NHS will look after you."
Many of the Twitter messages reacted angrily to Mr Hannan's criticism of the NHS, which he attacked on US TV as a "60 year mistake".
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley, who has sought to rebrand the Conservatives as the "party of the NHS", stressed Mr Hannan's views were not those of the party but he would not be disciplined for expressing them.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We don't extend discipline in parties to political censorship of people's views, we encourage free speech in the Conservative Party.
"It's just that we don't, David Cameron and I, don't happen to agree with Dan Hannan.
"What he said was both a negative view of the NHS, but more to the point was a distorted view of the NHS."
'Duped''Duped'
He also suggested the NHS could set examples for America's healthcare system - but added that elements of the US model could be used to improve the NHS.
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb claimed Mr Hannan's views, far from being "maverick", were shared by "many people within the Conservative Party".
He also criticised
Mr Hannan, who came to prominence with a strongly-worded YouTube attack on Gordon Brown, has been a longstanding critic of the NHS, but he has stressed that it is his personal view and not party policy.
Nevertheless, the row has been seized on by David Cameron's political opponents - particularly as the Tory leader has made support for the NHS a key part of his efforts to rebrand the party and has vowed to protect it from spending cuts if he comes to power.
US critics of the NHS see it as an overly-bureaucratic "socialized" system which rations care.US critics of the NHS see it as an overly-bureaucratic "socialized" system which rations care.
But one British woman said she felt duped after becoming the unwitting star of an anti-Obama health campaign.But one British woman said she felt duped after becoming the unwitting star of an anti-Obama health campaign.
Kate Spall, who appeared in a US free market group's TV commercial opposing Mr Obama's health bill, said her views were misrepresented.Kate Spall, who appeared in a US free market group's TV commercial opposing Mr Obama's health bill, said her views were misrepresented.
She told the Times: "It has been a bit of a nightmare. It was a real test of my naivety. I am a very trusting person and for me it has been a big lesson. I feel I was duped."She told the Times: "It has been a bit of a nightmare. It was a real test of my naivety. I am a very trusting person and for me it has been a big lesson. I feel I was duped."
Ms Spall and fellow Briton Katie Brickell's descriptions of poor treatment at the hands of the NHS featured in the Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR) advert.Ms Spall and fellow Briton Katie Brickell's descriptions of poor treatment at the hands of the NHS featured in the Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR) advert.