Johnson says he'll tell Trump: Hands off UK health service

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he’ll tell U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.K.’s state-funded health service will be off the table in any future trade negotiations. Johnson told reporters flying with him to New York that he would tell Trump “that when we do a free trade deal, we must take sure that the National Health Service is not on the table, that we do not in any way prejudice or jeopardize our standards on animal welfare and food hygiene in the course of that deal.

Opponents of Brexit fear the National Health Service will be opened up to private U.S. firms as part of trade negotiations. They also have suggested Britain may have to accept chlorine-washed chicken, a U.S. poultry industry practice that is banned in the European Union.

Johnson arrived at the U.N. gathering on Monday with a balancing act to do. He’s trying to persuade European Union leaders to strike an elusive divorce deal with Britain, while also laying the groundwork for a post-Brexit trade agreement with the United States.

The Conservative prime minister is keen to forge a strong relationship with the Republican president, who has called the British leader “a really good man.”

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