Cameron doesn’t give ‘two hoots’ about Welsh NHS, says first minister

The Welsh first minister has claimed that David Cameron “doesn’t care two hoots about the NHS in Wales”, and has accused the prime minister of “trying to divert attention from his own problems”.

Carwyn Jones’ comments came following yet another attack by Cameron on Labour’s handling of the NHS in Wales. Yesterday he used PMQs to attack the Welsh government’s handling of the health service as “dreadful”.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, however, the first minister has hit back, telling the station:

“This is the thirty-first time that he’s done this – it’s becoming a bit of an obsession for him.”

The prime minister was responding to a question from the Welsh Conservative MP Alun Cairns, who raised with him reports that the surgeon general for the armed services had raised concerns about soldiers waiting longer for treatment on the NHS in Wales than in the rest of the UK.

At the time the first minister expressed his fury that the Conservatives were using service personnel to attack the NHS in Wales.

Speaking on Radio Wales, however, Jones has gone further, telling the Jason Mohammad programme that the Ministry of Defence was “running away” from the story, and that the minutes of the meeting at which the surgeon general was alleged to have made the comments had not been agreed.

The first minister continued:

“This came completely out of the blue. I can see what’s happened. Some special adviser in London thought it was a good idea to give the story to some of the papers as a way to have a go at us.”

Accusing the government of “collusion” with the press, Jones concluded in no uncertain terms:

“I know it sounds quite dramatic to say that, but there is no doubt this was simply a way of using our veterans, people who have fought for this country, as a way of attacking one part of the UK for political ends.”