DONALD Trump has been hit by a Westminster backlash after he caused yet another spat with Britain by claiming the NHS was "going broke and not working".
The US President created his latest furore after he took to Twitter to comment on a march in London at the weekend, which descended on Whitehall to demand more health care spending, and used it in his argument about universal provision.
He said: “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!”
Mr Trump made his comments shortly after Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, appeared on one of the President's favourite US TV news shows, Fox and Friends, to talk about the NHS, which, he argued was under pressure because of high immigration.
Later, Mr Trump took again to Twitter to thank the TV show for "exposing the truth".
But Downing Street hit back, making clear Theresa May was “proud of having an NHS that is free at the point of delivery”.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman pointed out: “NHS funding is at a record high and was prioritised in the Budget with an extra £2.8 billion.
"In the recent Commonwealth Fund international survey, the NHS was rated the best in the world; for a second time," he added.
Jeremy Hunt, the UK Government’s Health and Social Care Secretary, tweeted: "I may disagree with claims made on that march but not ONE of them wants to live in a system where 28m people have no cover. 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."
Jeremy Corbyn also took to social media to rebut Mr Trump’s claim, saying: “Wrong. People were marching because we love our NHS and hate what the Tories are doing to it. Healthcare is a human right.”
During an Urgent Question in the Commons about the problems facing the NHS due to the increased winter demand, Jon Ashworth, the Shadow Health Secretary, also took the President to task, telling MPs: “By the way, we'll take no lessons from Donald Trump, who wants to deny healthcare to millions with a system that checks your purse before it checks your pulse.
“The NHS model isn't broke but it does need funding. If this Government won't give it the funding it needs, then the next Labour government will," he added.
The organisers of Saturday's NHS protest rejected Mr Trump's "divisive and incorrect rhetoric".
The People's Assembly Against Austerity and Health Campaigns Together said the NHS had been "a shining example to the world of what can be achieved when we put the needs of the collective good over the interests of a few wealthy individuals".
It added that the protest was against the prospect of moves to an "American-style system, which is widely acknowledged to be one of the most expensive, inefficient and unjust healthcare systems in the world".
The NHS row is the latest controversial episode in Mr Trump's presidency and is likely to exasperate Downing Street after diplomatic relations were mended at the World Economic Forum in Davos after the President caused outrage by retweeting videos from the Far Right group Britain First.
It is likely to make his planned visit to the UK later this year, which could include a trip to Scotland, even more tense with mass protests already planned.
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