The Tories have a "secret plot" to kill-off the NHS, it was claimed today.

Shadow health secretary, Dr Liam Fox, came under fire after it emerged that he had told a private meeting that the NHS "can't work and won't work". Dr Fox is reported to have told his audience that his job was "to persuade the public that the NHS is not working".

Forum Response: Unison

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, told ePolitix.com:"Liam Fox has done us all a favour by coming out and showing the world that the NHS would be pronounced dead on arrival if the Tories ever got into power.

"Having run down the NHS for years the Tories are now hoping to show that it is too broken to be fixed. In Toryward, instead of patients we would have customers and those that could 'self pay' would expect the rolls Royce treatment, while the poor would be left at the bottom of the list. The Tories insult every hard working nurse, every doctor and every member of the health team.

"The principle of a publicly funded NHS is best for Britain. We need to see money invested into the service to boost staffing, increase the number of beds and cut waiting lists."