Labour launches Tory website attack

Tony Blair: Personal campaign to "modernise NHS"

The Labour Party has sought to hit back at the Tories in an increasingly ugly battle over the NHS, by claiming on its website that William Hague's plans would end in privatisation for the service.

In a move which attempts to circumvent traditional media, Labour has appealed to voters to "judge for themselves" what the Tories really mean and has published a transcript and audio of comments made by Tory health spokesman Liam Fox.

While a spokesman for Dr Fox told BBC News Online that the transcript was an "honest" copy of the what was said, he said that Labour was "knowingly misleading" the public.

Labour's move comes the day after Prime Minister Tony Blair upped the stakes in the growing shadow general election campaign when he predicted that thousands of routine hospital operations would have to be paid for if the Conservatives were in power.

Tory leader William Hague described Labour's claims as "totally false" and Dr Fox accused the Prime Minister of trying to frighten the most vulnerable member of society.

Secret transcript

In the Labour recording and transcript, Dr Fox tells a Conservative Party Conference fringe meeting last year that the party's patients guarantee on maximum waiting times is a "Trojan Horse" - a remark frequently used Labour since then.

Liam Fox: "Trojan horse"

The party says that its guarantee states that if a patient does not have an operation by a given deadline, they must be treated immediately, even if it means the NHS paying for private treatment.

"What we are starting is perhaps a Trojan Horse, because with the patients' guarantee most of them haven't thought through the implications of what we are doing," Dr Fox is heard saying.

"I think what we are proposing will revolutionise private health insurance in the way we revolutionised pensions in the 1980s."

A Labour spokesman said that the party had used the tactic for the first time in order to "nail Tory lies" over Labour's handling of the NHS.

But Dr Fox has made countless speeches that we are not preparing to privatise the NHS

Conservative spokesman

He declined to reveal how the party obtained the recording but reports suggest that it was secretly made by Labour researchers.

"They are saying that we are lying, well we say let people can judge for themselves on what they have been saying," said the spokesman.

"Liam Fox said that this was their trojan horse. It's become their Achilles' heel.

"It shows that operations on knees, hips and cataracts would have to be paid for.

"When you take into account their tax guarantee, it just doesn't add up."

Tories furious

But a spokesman for the Conservatives hit back, telling BBC News Online that Labour was "knowingly misrepresenting" Dr Fox's comments.

"This is an honest transcript," said the spokesman.

"But Dr Fox has made countless speeches that we are not preparing to privatise the NHS. It is simply not true."

The spokesman said that Dr Fox had referred to the possibilities that more people could be treated through a better relationship between the private sector and the NHS which would remain the "cornerstone" of the nation's health system.

"We are talking about expanding health care and they are just clutching at straws," said the spokesman. "Their argument just doesn't stand up."