It is wrong that NHS patients are being denied access to potentially life-saving medication due to the prohibitive costs charged by pharmaceutical companies.

Pharmaceutical companies and the private sector can play an important role in research and prevention for diseases, not least in terms of providing funding that the NHS would be unable to meet under its current budgets. However, this research must be genuinely in the public interest and be properly accountable.

Therefore, I support tighter quality control for pharmaceutical companies who are in receipt of public funding. All publicly-funded pharmaceutical companies should be transparent and accountable to the Department of Health and Social Care.

No one should be denied access to medicine on the grounds of cost. The cornerstone of our NHS is that healthcare in the UK is free at the point of use, and this should also apply in cases of accessing medicine.