Wealthy Britons should pay fees to use NHS, suggests Tory peer Ken Clarke

‘Better-off patients’ could be asked to make ‘modest contribution’, says former chancellor

NHS is under severe pressure this winter (PA)

Former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke has said Rishi Sunak’s government should consider making wealthy Britons pay to use the NHS.

The Tory peer said it was time to discuss “modest” fees for GP appointments and some procedures for “better off patients” to help raise money for the health service.

“We can’t demand European standards of public service but continue to pay below European levels of taxation,” Lord Clarke told Times Radio.