Nurses in Cornwall were not about to give Boris Johnson an easy ride (Picture: i-Images)

Boris Johnson got a grilling from staff at a hospital in Penzance over his election promises for the NHS.

The Prime Minister was asked if he had a ‘nurses tree’ as well as a magic money tree after pledging to deliver 50,000 new nurses for the NHS.

He was accused of ‘deceit’ over the pledge after it emerged nearly half of the nurses promised already work for the NHS.

When he was asked by a nurse at West Cornwall Community Hospital: ‘Where are these people going to come from?’


The PM replied: ‘I think we should have a programme of making sure that people who have grown up in this country have a career in nursing … we’ve also got to make sure that we are open to people from around the world, and we can do that and we’re going to have an immigration system that is points-based.’



One nurse at the Cornish hospital told him she would not shake his hand until he got elected and kept his promises.

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A note warning ‘Don’t Vote Tory’ was left on a noticeboard at the hospital during the PM’s visit (Picture: Getty)

Mr Johnson serves tea with staff members as he visits West Cornwall Community Hospital (Picture: PA)

Mr Johnson was told by a student nurse that she was ‘struggling’ financially because of tuition fees as she asked him about his plans to bring back the nursing bursary.

Mr Johnson said: ‘We’re definitely bringing back the bursary… but I’ll have to check that (on tuition fees).’

Earlier on his tour of the wards, Mr Johnson told staff that his father Stanley was born in Penzance, but when asked where, he replied: ‘I presume he was born in a hospital … I’ll have to find out.’

And while the PM was attempting to shake hands with nurses in Cornwall, he was being attacked by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn over the NHS.

Labour has accused the Conservatives of negotiating a secret trade deal with the US to open up the NHS to American pharmaceutical companies.

Mr Corbyn said the party had obtained 451 pages of uncensored Government documents that he said proved the NHS was on the table in government trade talks with the US.

Meanwhile Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn produced a 451 page document he said revealed the Tories had offered the NHS in trade talks with the US (Picture: Reuters)

He accused the Tories of ‘selling-out’ the NHS for a deal with Donald Trump.

The uncensored papers covered six rounds of negotiations – taking place in Washington and London – starting in July 2017 until ‘just a few months ago’.

Mr Johnson has denied ever raising the sale of Britain’s National Health Service in such talks.

Mr Johnson was also targeted by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon as she launched her party’s ‘Stop Brexit’ manifesto.

And SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said Mr Johnson was ‘unfit for office’ as she launched the party’s manifesto (Picture: PA)

She disputed the prime minister’s claim that he can ‘get Brexit done’, insisting it is ‘nowhere near done’.

The Scottish First Minister said there would be ‘worse to come’ if Mr Johnson remained in power, adding: ‘This is just the start. Brexit is nowhere near being done.

‘The Tories have barely got going.’

She said Mr Johnson was ‘unfit for office’ due to the impact of austerity and said Tory cuts to the Scottish budget and the NHS, as well as ‘his disastrous Brexit deal’, ‘would hit jobs, living standards and workers rights’.

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