Cyber-attack sparks bitter political row over NHS spending

Labour and Liberal Democrats claim Conservatives' austerity squeeze has left service with unprotected IT systems

The cyber-attack that disrupted NHS systems and forced operations to be cancelled throughout the UK on Saturday has become a bitterly contested election issue, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats blaming the crisis on the government's failure to upgrade hospital computers.

A Cobra emergency ministerial meeting held on Saturday afternoon heard that 48 NHS organisations - a fifth of the total - were caught up in the attack, which spread to 99 countries.