The Lib Dems have attacked "biased and flawed" NHS performance figures published on Wednesday.

Dr Evan Harris, the party's health spokesman believes that while new figures are an improvement on "silly" name-and-shame star indicators for hospitals, the current figures lead to distortions in health priorities.

"These performance indicators are inherently biased and many are deeply flawed," he said. "Performance does need to be measured, but in a sensible way which will not distort priorities."

And the Lib Dems warn that plans to pressure hospitals over performance indicators, and in some cases to send in private mangers, risks scapegoating frontline services for the government's failure to recruit staff.

"Even by the government's flawed measurements of staff vacancies, things are getting worse. The fact that most of the hospitals with poor star ratings have the worst staffing problems show clearly that hospitals facing the greatest difficulties are those dealing with the greatest government failure on staffing," he said.