Migrants to get Home Office reference number on NHS England records

Discriminatory' development sparks concern among healthcare union and migrants' rights groups

• Home Office interest in migrant records dates back to Theresa May

NHS records of migrants are to have a Home Office reference number attached to them, prompting concerns about potential tracking, privacy rights and the expansion of the hostile environment".

A previous scheme using NHS data to track down patients believed to be breaching immigration rules was abandoned after a legal challenge from health and civil liberties organisations warning of a breach of patient confidentiality, discrimination against non-British patients and a risk of deterring people from seeking medical help.