FIVE hundred Halesowen people have signed a letter to their MP calling on him to press the Prime Minister to use his veto to stop an EU trade deal they believe would lead to the NHS being privatised.

Campaigners from The People's NHS West Midlands group will hand the letters in at the constituency office of James Morris, MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, in New Road, Halesowen, on Tuesday (September 29) at 11am.

They say the TTIP - Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership - between Europe and America would lead to the "irreversible privatisation of the NHS".

The letter against the deal says it would "treat public services as goods to be traded like any other merchandise".

"It will allow our NHS services to be sold to the highest bidder amongst big American health corporations," adds the letter.

A spokesman for The People's NHS said: "The TTIP trade deal is being negotiated behind closed doors, between EU bureaucrats and delegates from the United States.

"It is the largest bilateral trade deal ever negotiated and threatens to make the on-going privatisation of the NHS irreversible by giving the profits of corporations precedence over national lawmakers.

"TTIP could grant American multinationals, or any firm with American investors, the power to sue the government if it ever attempted to take privatised health services back into public ownership."

Mr Morris said: "The Government is committed to an NHS that is there for everyone who needs it, funded from general taxation and free at the point of use. TTIP will not affect how the NHS decides who is best to provide its services.

“This partnership would be the largest bilateral trade agreement in the world and would bring significant economic benefits in terms of jobs and growth, with the potential to deliver £10 billion to the UK economy each year."