PM admits using "independent" healthcare but registered with NHS GP
It follows weeks of speculation about whether Rishi Sunak relied on NHS services
The Prime Minister has admitted using private healthcare following weeks of speculation about whether he relied on NHS services.
Rishi Suank said he was registered with an NHS GP but told MPs he had used "independent healthcare in the past.
The PM had previously dismissed questions about whether he had private healthcare, insisting it was "not really relevant".
At Prime Minister's Questions Mr Sunak said: "I am registered with an NHS GP.
"I have used independent healthcare in the past and I'm also grateful to the Friarage Hospital for the fantastic care they have given my family over the years."
Mr Sunak's father was a GP while his mother ran a pharmacy and the Prime Minister said: "I am proud to come from an NHS family and that's why I'm passionately committed to protecting it with more funding, more doctors and nurses and a clear plan to cut the waiting lists."
The Prime Minister repeatedly declined during an interview with the BBC on Sunday to say whether he pays to skip NHS queues to see a doctor.
It has previously been reported that he is registered with a private GP practice in west London.
The Prime Minister's press secretary said that while he believed in principle personal health details should remain private, he had set out his arrangements due to "the level of interest and in the interests of transparency".
She said that Mr Sunak no longer had private healthcare cover but declined to say when that ceased.
"He has used private healthcare in the past. He doesn't have private healthcare cover. I am not going to get into timelines," she said.
A Labour spokesman said its leader Sir Keir Starmer has never had private healthcare.