Boris Johnson has been accused of “misleading the public” for describing his £1.8 billion cash injection for the NHS as “new money”.
Some 20 hospitals will benefit from an £850 million upgrade programme under the funding plan. The rest of the money will go towards new infrastructure and equipment.
In an interview with the BBC, the Prime Minister said the £1.8 billion is “new money”. A spokesperson for Downing Street has since clarified that £1 billion of the funding is not actually new, with the other £800 million yet to be accounted for.
"I want to stress, this is new money"
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) August 5, 2019
Boris Johnson says his pledge of £1.8bn of NHS funding is on top of previous promises, rejecting criticism it is "a drop in the ocean" compared to the service's £6bn backloghttps://t.co/Bl6vD6Pzle pic.twitter.com/mU0AM1zqV7
Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has accused the Prime Minister of “misleading the public”.
Ashworth says the funding had already been allocated to hospitals but was blocked by ministers. He also said the NHS was facing a £6 billion “repair backlog”.
Ignore Tory spin:
— Jonathan Ashworth (@JonAshworth) August 5, 2019
💥Its cash hospitals already had but ministers blocked them from spending.
🚨Hancock has failed to deliver on existing promises.
💥Tory smash & grab raids cut over £4bn from NHS budgets.
🚨NHS left struggling with £6bn repair backlog. https://t.co/HrBlp9RF6G
