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Every part of the National Health Service is being put out to tender by private firms.

The massive step towards full privatisation of the NHS is being made in ­regulations neaked out earlier this month – exposed by the Daily Mirror today.

The new rules impose “compulsory competitive markets” on the entire health service.

The changes are planned under the overhaul launched by Tory former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. He claimed there was nothing in it to “promote or permit the transfer of NHS activities to the private sector”.

But now all services are to be offered to the highest bidder from April 1.

The move would allow “any qualified provider” including giants such as Virgin Care to outbid local hospitals.

Critics fear the rules will let companies asset-strip NHS facilities. Labour have warned firms could cherry-pick the easiest, most profitable, procedures, leaving the NHS to pick up the tab for tricky and expensive surgery.

The Government says it has only put services out for “competition on quality, not price”. MPs have until March 31 to overturn the planned rules.

Jamie Reed, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, condemned PM David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg over the change. He said: “These new rules put private companies and the money motive at the heart of our NHS. Labour will vigorously oppose them – they go even further than we feared last year when the Government’s destructive NHS re-organisation struggled through Parliament. Ministers concealed their true intentions.

“People will not forgive David Cameron and Nick Clegg for selling off the NHS to the highest bidder.”

The regulations are part of the Health and Social Care Act which also lets hospitals treat as many private patients as NHS ones. Mr Lansley had insisted the NHS was “not for sale”, adding: “There will be no privatisation.”

But Dr Clive Peedell, who set up the National Health Action Party to protect the NHS said: “We and many others have warned from the beginning that the Tory agenda behind Lansley’s Bill was privatisation, and transforming the NHS from our greatest public service into a competitive market.

“The Tories have clearly lied even to their coalition partners to get their Bill through and are now determined to sneak through the finishing touches that would kill off our NHS. They must be stopped.”