Theresa May responds to Trump's NHS attack: 'I'm proud of free health service'

Theresa May has found herself in a new spat with Donald Trump, after the US President branded Britain's National Health Service as “broke and not working”.

The Prime Minister, who is constantly fending off domestic criticism over her handling of the NHS, was forced to defend its performance and point out that it was recently named the safest and most affordable system in the world for a second time.

Earlier in the day Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt also rebuffed billionaire Mr Trump’s claims, saying that the UK’s was a system in which people can receive care “no matter the size of their bank balance”.

This is the latest comment by Mr Trump to irritate the UK Government. He recently criticised Ms May’s approach to Brexit, has fallen out with the PM after promoting a British far-right group and has annoyed Downing Street by questioning the UK’s approach to terrorism.

Following Mr Trump’s criticism of the health service on Twitter, Ms May’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister is proud of having an NHS that is free at the point of delivery. NHS funding is at a record high and was prioritised in the Budget with an extra £2.8bn.”

He also said that Mr Hunt had been speaking on behalf of the Government, when the cabinet minister went slightly further in his rebuttal on Twitter.

Mr Hunt had said: “NHS may have challenges but I’m proud to be from the country that invented universal coverage – where all get care no matter the size of their bank balance.”

The tweet came after Mr Trump used the NHS in comments attacking plans by the Democratic Party for universal healthcare, which could be modelled on the British system.

He also cited a demonstration on Saturday, where thousands marched on Downing Street calling on the Government to give the NHS the funding it needs, as an argument against the US adopting a similar system.

Mr Trump wrote: “The Democrats are pushing for universal healthcare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working. Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks!”

Health economists have said the health service needs £4bn for 2018-19, but it was given less than half that amount in the Autumn Budget.

Despite this funding restraint and lower per capita health spending than many comparable countries, the NHS performs relatively well on independent assessments.

Last year a review of healthcare in key OECD countries by the Commonwealth Fund think tank ranked the NHS top – driven chiefly by the affordability and equality of access to treatment.

While the NHS came second last on the “health outcomes” category, and lags behind other systems in areas like cancer care, it still performed better than the American system on this measure.

The President’s outburst came after ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage appeared on Fox News in the US claiming that the NHS is at “breaking point”.

Mr Farage was also at the centre of an early spat between Downing Street and the White House, when he became the first UK politician to meet the newly elected President and Mr Trump broke diplomatic protocol to suggest he should be Britain’s ambassador in Washington.

Ms May appeared to strike a close relationship with the President when she visited Washington in January last year, even allowing herself to be photographed holding his hand in the White House gardens.

But things have soured, with the invitation made by Ms May to the President for a state visit still not having been fulfilled. It is reported to have been delayed by fears on both sides of the Atlantic of the large protests it could spark.

In particular, Buckingham Palace is said to have been concerned that the demonstrations could reflect badly on the Queen, who would be forced to host Mr Trump.

But the President cancelled a visit to Britain to open the US embassy in London this year, claiming he would not do it because Barack Obama had signed a “bad” deal on the new building, even though it was signed off by George W Bush.

Relations were at their most strained when Mr Trump retweeted material from the extremist group Britain First, causing Ms May to say he was wrong live on air, which in turn led Mr Trump to hit back on Twitter and suggest the UK is not properly tackling terrorism.

Mr Trump has also recently criticised Ms May’s approach to Brexit, saying that he would have taken a tougher line with Brussels.