The Trade Bill is at report stage in the House of Lords and currently it is being amended by various committees and these amendments now need to be passed in the House of Lords.

The Trade Bill was endorsed by all except two Conservative MPs in the House of Commons in July without these vital amendments.

We are writing to ask readers to urge their local MP to vote in the national interest and amend the Trade Bill so that our health services are protected from future privatisation; privatisation of the NHS has crept in stealthily since the 1980s.

We respond to the depth of feeling demonstrated by many in our country when Captain Sir Tom Moore raised more than £32m for the NHS simply by walking his terrace.

The NHS needs to regain status as a well funded public service, it is not a charity.

Health is the key to life on planet Earth, we believe Sir David Attenborough and your readers will agree.

We are dismayed where we see the continuing closure of health service facilities when so often these have been funded and equipped by the local communities themselves who need and value them.

We urge our local MPs to vote in the amendments and say ‘no’ to future NHS trade deals of the services, data and equipment which we in fact own.

Teresa Godbert, Ken Godbert, Val Barton and Phil Turner
Hereford