The government is right to U-turn on the NHS surcharge – but embarrassingly late

Editorial: The shift in policy is a quickly won victory for Keir Starmer, Labour’s new leader

Boris Johnson had defended the policy at PMQs before changing his mind (PA)

As brazen a performer as Boris Johnson is, he looked mildly uncomfortable at Prime Minister’s Questions this week. Under pressure from Keir Starmer, Mr Johnson attempted to justify his government’s policy to charge migrant NHS and care workers to access the very health service they are supporting, sometimes on less than the living wage.

All Mr Johnson could offer, apart from the usual platitudes about the heroes, who “frankly saved my life”, was that the fee raised £900m of income for the NHS. That’s less than 1 per cent of the NHS budget, but in any case was a predictably inflated figure, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimating the total is around £90m.

Morally indefensible in normal times, the surcharge became politically untenable at a time when these people are being asked to put their lives on the line. Many are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, for whom the mortality rate is distressingly higher than average. They should not be charged for the privilege of helping to save the lives of others.