THE SNP has been accused of “rank hypocrisy” as its Westminster leader pledges to bring forward a Bill to protect the NHS from privatisation.

Writing in the Daily Record newspaper, SNP’s Stephen Flynn claimed both Labour and Tories were driving “massive privatisation” in health, branding it “deeply disappointing.”

He vowed to bring forward a Keep The NHS In Public Hands Bill within 100 days of the election which would “bind the hands of the UK government — ensuring our health service is fully protected as publicly owned, publicly operated, and with its services publicly commissioned.”

The pledge however comes just four months after SNP health minister Neil Gray stated as part of an interview on ITV’s Representing Border that he would not rule out and “would be happy to consider” more private provision in a fully devolved Scottish NHS.

And latest figures show that 9,603 people waited more than four hours to be treated, admitted or discharged from A&E departments in Scotland’s fully devolved NHS.

Scottish Labour’s Dame Jackie Baillie said: “Stephen Flynn is doing the Tories’ work for them as he fabricates outright lies to attack Labour.

“It is rank hypocrisy for the SNP to try and position themselves as the defenders of the NHS when they are responsible for the chaos engulfing services in Scotland.

“Under the SNP, more and more people are being forced to pay for private healthcare in order to escape massive waiting list, with private operations rising four times faster than they are in England.

“After 17 years of SNP failure and 14 years of Tory failure, our NHS is on life support and its founding principles are under threat — but Labour can be the change our health service needs both in Westminster and Holyrood.”