Islington Labour voted last night to commit the Council to opposing the closure of the Whittington Hospital.

The Council motion follows a campaign in which hundreds of people have signed the petition to oppose the closure in a matter of days.

On Wednesday parliamentary debate secured by Jeremy Corbyn MP heavily criticised NHS London and the North Central London sub-region, which are considering the closure of the Whittington A&E department - against Government policy.

Speaking in the debate, Jeremy Corbyn MP said:

"We have good services, good treatment and a good hospital, and we want it to carry on that way. If we allow the proposal to go ahead and if we lose the A and E department, everything else is at risk, entailing a huge waste of public money and resources."

Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury, said:

"If there is any chance that anyone is seriously thinking about closing the Whittington A and E, they will have a fight on their hands, certainly from my hon. Friend and myself and the huge amount of support that we are already garnering in Islington and, I strongly suspect, across other boroughs that use the Whittington."

The Health Minister responded to agreed that no case had been made by NHS London to close the A&E,

"the case for the closure of the Whittington hospital A and E department, if such a proposal were ever made, has yet to be made. As I understand it, the situation is that some vague discussions are going on. Local people have expressed their views, as have my hon.

"However, I would tell the PCT to proceed with caution. Local people will have a view and the NHS needs to consult them properly. They ought to know what the ideas and so on are on the table in order to express a clear view about them."

He warned local health managers that Islington's MPs had "expressed very clearly their views about these matters and the importance to local people of the Whittington hospital, including its A and E department, and I am sure that those on the PCT will have heard those words very forcibly indeed."