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A Tory minister was forced to deny that the government want to privatise the NHS as she was repeatedly called a liar.

Margot James, who represented the government on Question Time insisted that the Tories fully support the NHS and have put more money in.

When a member of the audience suggested the Conservative government is "ideologically underfunding the NHS so they can make the argument for privatisation."

The newly-appointed culture minister hit back saying: "nothing could be further from the truth."

Ms James said: "I'm very sorry there's such enthusiasm for what you just said because it is utterly untrue.

"I've been accused of setting the NHS up to fail so that we can privatise it. Nothing could be further from the truth."

There were shouts of "liar" from the audience as the Tory minister tried to defend herself.

"No I am not a liar, I have spent time volunteering in the NHS over the four or five years," she continued.

"I am not a liar I believe in the NHS and so does my government and we do put more money into it."

Shouts of "lies" could be heard as Ms James attempted to defend the Tories' record on the NHS.

"We do put more money into it," she insisted.

As shouts from the audience threatened to overwhelm her, she said: "I'm sorry I'm going to carry on answering this question

"We have put an extra £3.5billion at the last budget we've increased the NHS budget every year since we got into government.

"I do accept there's more demographic pressures on it that is true. But it is not true to say we don't invest in the NHS and it is an utter lie to say we don't believe in it because we do."

The audience member who asked about privatisation said: "What I don't understand is there is so much public support to put more money into our NHS, to pay our nurses more, to support our nurses and reinstate the bursary programme because if you're going to be a nurse and you're going to qualify earning less than £30,000 a year but you ended up in so much debt with so high interest rates to pay.

"Why would you do it? It doesn't make any sense.

"I wonder if the Conservative government that we have is ideologically underfunding the NHS so they can make the argument for privatisation."

She was one of many to speak out passionately defending the NHS.

A nurse in Hereford where the programme was filmed told of colleagues who were leaving the Health Service.

"The basic wage for a staff nurse is very difficult, if you're a young nurse that's alright and people coming from abroad they don't complain about that because they're young nurses but once you've got a family or you've been in nursing 20 years I mean would any of you like to be earning £28,000 a year because the mortgage has gone up, the gas and electric, the food.

"A lot of nurses have left to go to agency or to the private hospital down the road because it's better pay and conditions."

Another NHS nurse said: "Nurses are leaving to go back abroad because they can't believe the conditions they are working under in our wonderful NHS.

"I am so proud of our profession. We work with our hearts and our hands and our heads and we are not valued.

She said: "We are losing money."

And she continued: "I know a nurse who left very recently because she is earning less than her 17-year-old son who has no qualifications and is an apprentice and that is a disgrace."

This evening's recording of the programme got off to a shaky start when there were problems with the broadcast and the start was delayed.

Against a background an apology read: "We are sorry for the break in this programme and are trying to correct the fault."

On Twitter some joked that this could be the best episode of the controversial current affairs programme.

At the end of the programme the highly engaged audience were riled up and as David Dimbleby announced an upcoming recording of the programme in Grantham "the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher" there were boos from the audience.