CAMPAIGNERS have slammed the government’s “sickening” decision to block protections for the NHS from the Trade Bill, which passed through the Commons on Monday night. 

Last-ditch attempts by the Green Party and Labour to rule the NHS out of a future trade deal with the US were thwarted when MPs voted down a key amendment by 340 votes to 251.

The proposal would have banned any deal seeking to undermine the status of the NHS as a public-funded service, free at the point of delivery, and would have protected it “from any form of control from outside the UK.”

The Tories insisted that the NHS did not need protections because it is not up for sale. 

Fears of a possible sell-off were sparked last year when US President Donald Trump said: “Everything with the trade deal is on the table.” He later U-turned on the claim after it sparked widespread outcry in Britain.

Commenting on the vote, We Own It campaigner Ellen Lees said: “It’s frankly sickening that at a time when we’re more reliant on our NHS than ever before, the government has steamrollered through Parliament a Trade Bill that offers absolutely no protection for our treasured NHS.”

An amendment tabled by Tory backbenchers which would have given Parliament a say on post-Brexit trade deals was also defeated. 

During the debate, shadow international trade minister Bill Esterson said that the lack of scrutiny threatened to leave the NHS ”wide open to pharmaceutical giants.”

Global Justice Now campaigner Jean Blaylock said the government’s refusal to give MPs a say on future trade deals was alarming.

“When you understand what is at stake, this is terrifying,” she said. “Many MPs spoke of the need to protect our NHS because it is all that has stood between us and devastation in the last few months. 

“Yet this Bill does nothing to ensure the NHS is off the table in trade negotiations.”

We Own It also warned that the vote could leave Britain vulnerable to controversial investor-state dispute settlements, which allow companies to sue governments if their policies impact on profits.

The Bill has now passed to the Lords for a final reading.