Britons pour love on \'evil\' healthcare system

Britons, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, have leapt to the defense of their creaking healthcare service after President Barack Obama\'s plans for a similar system in the United States were branded \"evil\" by Republicans, according to a report on www.edition.cnn.com.



Tens of thousands of people have joined a Twitter group expressing pride in the UK\'s National Health Service (NHS), which offers free taxpayer-funded medical care to all British residents, while leading politicians have spoken out in support.



Republican former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin earlier this week condemned Obama\'s plans to introduce a public heath insurance scheme as an \"evil\" move that would result in \"death panels\" deciding who would live or die.



Her criticism has been echoed by fellow Republicans in direct attacks on Britain\'s NHS. In an article, Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich said British healthcare was run by \"Orwellian\" bureaucrats who put a price tag on life.



The comments caused a storm of protest in the United Kingdom, with Prime Minister Brown wading into the argument via micro-blogging site Twitter, where a conversation chain, \"welovetheNHS\", is generating huge online traffic.



A posting on the 10 Downing Street Twitter site on Wednesday read: \"PM: NHS often makes the difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death. Thanks for always being there.\"



The message was followed by another, from Brown\'s wife Sarah, adding: \"welovetheNHS - more than words can say.\"