Rishi Sunak has confirmed he has used private healthcare, having previously refused to answer questions about whether he uses the NHS.
Speaking during PMQs on Wednesday, the prime minister said: “I am registered with an NHS GP, but I have used independent healthcare in the past.”
Earlier this week Sunak repeatedly dodged questions about whether he used private healthcare, dismissing it as a “distraction” and not “relevant”.
Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, had told the PM he should “come clean” about his healthcare arrangements.
It has previously been reported that Sunak was registered with a private GP practice in west London.
Sunak’s comments followed health secretary Steve Barclay confirming he used an NHS doctor.
“I don’t subscribe to a sort of GP private thing,” he told LBC. “I don’t subscribe to private provision.”
“But I don’t have a problem with people, with their own money, who wish to spend that money on private healthcare. I think that is a perfectly reasonable thing for people to want to do.”
Sunak’s admission comes amid widespread strike action by nurses and ambulance workers.
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, told Sunak he was “choosing to prolong misery” by having refused to negotiate with unions before Christmas.