4 times David Cameron misled MPs in just 15 minutes

David Cameron made four bold statements to Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions. We explain why they don't quite stand up

Fast and loose: David Cameron's claims did not stack up
David Cameron was at his slippery worst at Prime Minister’s questions.

Faced with sustained and sombre questioning from Jeremy Corbyn on the state of the NHS, he did everything apart from give direct answers.

At first he tried to bamboozle MPs with statistics.

Then he resorted to attacks on the health service in Labour-run Wales even though Mr Corbyn was asking about NHS in England.


The Prime Minister then misquoted Andy Burnham and dismissed those with terminal illnesses as making a “lifestyle choice” by being on benefits.

Here are four times Cameron misled MPs in just 15 minutes.

1 He got his diagnosis wrong

PA
Scan: The PM mixed up the different types of radiographers

David Cameron cunningly ducked questions over a cut in training places for radiographers - without looking like he was.

Jeremy Corbyn blasted him for cutting training places for therapeutic radiographers by nearly 5%.

But instead the PM answered with increase in the number of diagnostic radiographers.

Those are two different job titles.

Diagnostic radiographers use their skills to find out if people have cancer.

It’s therapeutic radiographers who actually treat it.

Mr Corbyn’s attack was backed by the Society of Radiographers which said therapeutic training places for next year will be 396 compared to 414 this year, a cut of 4.3%.

The Society added there will be 1,131 diagnostic training places next year compared to 1,115 in 2015/16 - a rise of 1.4%.

2 He has no idea how much they spend in Wales

Whenever in trouble on the state of the NHS in England, David Cameron turns the subject to the health service in Labour-run Wales.

He claimed there was a “key difference” between England and Wales: “Whereas we have a cancer drugs fund, Wales does not.’


When Corbyn pointed out that Wales had better cancer survival rates, the PM switched his attack.

“Labour runs Wales, and what has Labour done in Wales? Labour has cut the NHS in Wales,” he claimed.

Welsh Labour pointed out afterwards that spending on health has increased by 9% since 2013-14 and spending on health and social services per person and was higher than in England.

3 That Andy Burnham quote

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Health warning: Andy Burnham's words were twisted by the PM

This is one of Cameron’s most used attack lines and it is based on a twisting of Andy Burnham's words.

Under pressure on cancer waiting times, the PM boasted the Tories had “put more money into the NHS” and said this extra expenditure had been branded “irresponsible” by Burnham when he was shadow Health Secretary.

The Prime Minister never quotes Burnham in full. What the Labour MP actually said was it would be “irresponsible” to increase NHS spending if at the same time you cut social care and other services.


Andy Burnham Verified account ‏@andyburnhammp
What I actually said, @David_Cameron, was that it's irresponsible to pay for NHS funding increase by raiding social care. And I stand by it.

“The effect is that he (Osborne) is damaging, in a serious way, the ability of other public services to cope: he will visit real damage on other services that are intimately linked to the NHS. The health service needs functioning day care, and housing and meals,” Mr Burnham said in June 2010.

4 There's cuts and then there's Tory cuts

The PM signalled he will keep his plan to slash payments for the chronically sick and disabled from £102.15 to £73.10 , the same as jobseekers’ allowance.

That’s despite the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) cuts suffering a whopping defeat last month in the House of Lords.

In his defence the PM said the policy was “for future claimants - not for existing claimants who continue to be paid at the same rate”.

Technically that’s true, but it’s misleading.

What the PM didn’t say was that anyone who stops claiming for more than 12 weeks will count as a “new claimant” if they’re forced to return to ESA.

That will affect people who find work for more than three months, only to be laid off when their illness gets worse.

The PM insisted only those judged fit for “work-related activity” will be paid the reduced rate, saying: “That is what a compassionate Conservative government does”.

That is also technically true, but people on ESA complain they’ve been put in the work-related activity group unfairly. And thousands have died soon after being declared fit for work.

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A weasal, a liar and a low life pig fu..ing arsehole