UNITE celebrated a “significant victory” today after forcing an NHS trust in Leicester to abandon its proposal to set up a wholly owned subsidiary to avoid paying tax.

The union described the decision by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust as “a victory in the long campaign against the creation of such subsidiaries which could lead to a Pandora’s box of Carillion-type meltdowns” and have “adverse knock-on effects on jobs and patient services.”

Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe said: “This is very good news that the NHS trust in Leicester has backed down over its plan to set up a hived-off tax-avoiding subsidiary.”