Labour facing probe over fake news posts claiming Tories will send 500m of NHS money to Trump every week

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LABOUR is facing a humiliating probe over its ‘fake news’ photoshop stunt claiming the Tories will send Donald Trump 500million of NHS money each week.

The party has been slammed for putting out a doctored image of Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg in front of a fake blue bus, claiming the Tories would ‘fund US drug firms’ rather than the NHS as part of a UK-US trade deal.

Labour have been reported to NHS chiefs for using their logo

The PM has repeatedly insisted the NHS is not up for sale in any trade deals after Brexit, and the claims about drug prices going up have been debunked by fact-checkers.

And Labour could be forced into an embarrassing climbdown over its clumsy photoshop, which is supposed to ape the controversial ‘350m’ bus used by Vote Leave during the Brexit referendum campaign.

The advert uses the official NHS logo, which can’t be used without express permission from the Health Secretary – meaning Labour could be threatened with legal action over the misuse of the trademark.

Sources close to the Health Secretary who owns the copyright confirmed that the Labour party has not sought or received permission to use the logo.

Former Tory MP David Morris has written to NHS bosses, accusing Labour of using the health service to promote their “dodgy scare stories” and “misleading the public”.

He told The Sun: “Its disgraceful how Jeremy Corbyn is using the NHS logo to try and scare vulnerable patients.

“Corbyn will do anything to try and distract from his confused position on Brexit he should be ashamed.

“These dodgy scare stories will fool no one.”

Back in 2016 Government lawyers acting on behalf of NHS England threatened to sue Vote Leave over their use of the NHS logo on its leaflets.

The 500million claim has been debunked by experts, and Downing Street dismissed it as a “flat out lie” last week.

The Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald has admitted “it is just an estimate at this stage”.

The numbers were taken from a report penned by Dr Andrew Hill from Liverpool University.

Dr Hill told The Sun: There is no way to predict how much extra money the NHS will actually have to pay after agreeing a US-UK trade deal, because the wording of the actual trade deals is kept secret.
The 500 million per week estimate is a worst case scenario if we had to pay the same price for all drugs as the US.

It is based on how much it could cost the US if it spent the same amount per person on drugs as the US. Currently America spends 2.5 times as much.

Brexit minister Michael Gove tore into the claim.

He raged: It is the most ridiculous nonsense I have ever heard in my 52 years on this earth.

It is a fantasy. It is a figure plucked from thin air in order to try to distract attention from the weakness of Jeremy Corbyns position on Brexit.

We have made it perfectly clear drug prices wont be going up. Jeremy Corbyn is attempting to perpetuate Halloween into November by telling ghost stories that
frankly no one believes.

A senior Tory source said the claim is a flat out lie and clearly bulls**t.

He said: Its a lie because its untrue – you have to be wilfully misleading to ever quote that because the professor said its not true.

Confronted directly on if he was peddling scare stories, the Labour chief defended his controversial claim.

Meanwhile a party spokesperson said: “We mocked up a bus showing Boris Johnson’s Tories want to do a deal with Donald Trump to send 500 million a week from our NHS to big US drugs companies, to parody his Vote Leave fake news bus.”

Full letter from David Morris to NHS chiefs

Dear NHS Brand and Identity Team,

I am writing to you with concern about the Labour Partys repeated and misleading use of the NHSs logo, which they have used on numerous occasions including on their official Twitter feedand which has also been widely shared by the Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn.

The image with the NHS logo on features a highly misleading figure, which has been debunked by various reputable fact checking sources including the BBC, Channel 4 and Full Fact. The report Labour takes its figure their figure from has also called the figure used a crude estimate, and the Shadow Transport Secretary has admitted it is just an estimate at this stage.

The Prime Minister has been completely clear that the National Health Service is not on the table as far as our negotiations go. This position has also been confirmed by the former General Counsel for the Office of the US Trade Representative, who said if the UK really, really is determined to make no changes at all on pharmaceuticals, they can absolutely hold that position That doesnt have anything to do with us.

The use of the NHS logo in this instance goes against the Department for Health and Social Cares clear guidance, which states that the letters NHS and the NHS logo are protected by law. They are UK trade marks owned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and may not be produced without permission.

I am therefore concerned that the Labour Partys use of the NHS logo on this image will mislead the general public, who may wrongly conclude that the use of the logo indicates the figure used is genuine and endorsed by the NHS.

As the team responsible for managing and protecting the NHSs trade mark, would you be able to please confirm that the Labour Party do not have permission to use the NHSs logo, and furthermore instruct the Labour Party that they should not use the NHS logo in the future without the authorised permission of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

I am given to understand that you have previously threatened legal action against political organisations that breach the guidelines on the use of NHS trademarks. I would ask you to demonstrate similar determination to uphold the NHS trademark on this occasion, especially given that this logo is being misused to deliberately scare those who rely on our NHS.

Yours sincerely,

David Morris