THE Scottish Greens have warned that the NHS in Scotland is under threat of privatisation after it was revealed that it had not been exempted from the Ceta free trade deal.

Following parliamentary questioning by the Greens, the Scottish government’s Economy Secretary Keith Brown admitted that NHS Scotland had not been specifically listed as being exempt from the Ceta trade deal signed by the European Union and Canada.

Scottish Green Party food and farming spokesman Mark Ruskell has called on the Scottish government to publish its assessment of the impact of Ceta on Scotland, but ministers have refused, saying it is “legal advice.”

“The UK government has previously said that the NHS would be exempt from controversial trade deals including TTIP and Ceta,” said Mr Ruskell.

“It’s a worry that NHS Scotland has not been listed separately in the treaty, and I would urge the Scottish government to seek clarity on this point.”

Mr Ruskell called on ministers to take action to prevent Ceta which he described as a “corporate power grab” that poses a threat “not only to our public services but to our economy.”

Global Justice Now trade campaigner Guy Taylor also voiced concerns about Ceta’s affect on public services.

He warned: “One of the biggest threats posed by the toxic trade deal between Canada and the EU is that it would ‘lock in’ the privatisation of public services.

“Richard Branson is quietly hoovering up large amounts of the NHS through Virgin Care, and if Ceta was to come into force it would make it impossible to take such vital services back into public ownership,” he said.