Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) is being “bled dry” by mass immigration, a senior cancer specialist has said.

Professor Angus Dalgleish, principal of the Cancer Vaccine Institute, says the NHS is “on its knees” thanks to migrants from the European Union (EU) taking advantage of free movement rules.

Cancer treatment can cost up to £200,000 for the UK’s socialised healthcare service, and under Brussels law Britain must offer it to all EU nationals.

Professor Dalgleish will tell a conference that Britain’s membership of the EU is “putting an intolerable strain on our NHS”.

“The NHS is on its knees and could collapse completely. NHS Trusts were not prepared for the millions of EU migrants who have poured into Britain because the Government estimate was nowhere near the reality

“GP services are collapsing under the huge number of people they are having to treat and this has led to less than 20 per cent of students wanting to become GPs.

“Britain is attracting thousands of health tourists from across the EU who cannot get certain drugs or treatments in their home country so come to Britain and demand them as EU citizens.

“Cancer treatment can cost £200,000 a year per patient and while we remain in the EU, Britain has to offer treatment for any EU citizen who comes here so as to not discriminate.

“The Health Service is being bled dry – this is why our NHS faces a £3 billion deficit.”

The Daily Mail reports that Professor Dalgleish will be joined at the conference, which is titled “The Good Life after Brexit”, by UKIP leader Nigel Farage, former Defence Secretary Liam Fox, Conservative MPs David Davis and John Redwood and Labour MP Graham Stringer.

He will also tell the conference that European regulations are holding back important cancer trials that could discover new treatments.

“The introduction of the EU clinical trials directive meant academic led studies carried out in Britain became illegal if not performed to new EU standards. By blindly adhering to EU directives, the British Government has hindered crucial medical research in key disease areas.

“The unfathomable amount of EU regulation and bureaucracy has led to a third less clinical studies taking place in Britain.

“Britain was world leading in these studies but because of the EU, we now lag behind the United States.”