Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, commenting on the deal NHS England has reached with private hospitals, said:

“Ministers urgently need to scale up NHS capacity. As we have consistently highlighted, after years of under-resourcing the NHS simply does not have enough ICU beds, ventilators and staff.

“We welcome any move that brings extra capacity in quickly, but many will question why the government isn’t simply requisitioning these facilities rather than paying for them through the NHS’s overstretched budget.”