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Boris Johnson abruptly shut down a press conference after being asked if he had spoken to Donald Trump about ruling the NHS out of a future US/UK trade deal.

Asked by the Independent if he had made it "crystal clear" to Donald Trump that "neither the NHS or pharmaceuticals" should be part of future trade negotiations, the PM threw a bit of a huff and said he wouldn't answer any more questions.

It comes after the Mirror revealed plans from predatory US health firms who believe the British market will be easier to crack after Brexit .

Mr Johnson seemed to be trying to strike a different tone from Trump - who just minutes earlier cancelled his post conference press conference.

But the PM's open approach changed when he was quizzed about the row around NHS drug prices.

A visibly riled Mr Johnson brought questions to a juddering halt.

He began blustering:"I think everybody by now has rumbled all this for the nonsense that it is.

(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

"I think I might wind up this press conference now because I think we’re starting to scrape the barrel."

Mr Johnson continued to ramble on - cracking out his central campaign message that Jeremy Corbyn wants two referendums to be held next year, as part of a bid to plunge the country into chaos.

For the record, the Labour leader has said he won't hold a referendum on Scottish Independence in the opening years of a Labour government.

American pharmaceutical companies are desperate to hike prices and charge the National Health Service more for life-saving drugs.

(Image: Getty Images)

The powerful industry has been lobbying US trade negotiators to prise open the UK healthcare sector as part of a post-Brexit deal with the UK.

A document written by the US Chamber of Commerce and Coalition of Services Industries last month exposes that they are waiting to dive in post-Brexit, believing one-on-one negotiations away from the European Union leaves the UK vulnerable.

The 24-page document, headed Services Priorities for a Future US-UK Trade Agreement, makes a worrying comparison between future trade talks and the three-year Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations between the US and EU, which collapsed in 2016.

The document reads: “Negotiations between the United States and the UK may encounter some of the difficulties that arose during TTIP

“Concerns about potential impacts on Britain’s National Health Service are being aired. It should prove easier to overcome these challenges with the UK as an individual negotiating partner.”

The report also confirms the “United States will seek rules that prohibit, across all services sectors, discrimination against foreign services suppliers and restrictions on the number of services suppliers in the market”.

In London on Tuesday for a summit to mark 70 years of NATO, US President Donald Trump claimed he did not want to prey on our treasured NHS. “We wouldn’t want to if you handed it to us on a platter,” he said.

But speaking on ITV’s This Morning, Labour leader Mr Corbyn rubbished this claim. He said: “Trump himself has said everything is on the table, including our NHS.”