British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced that NHS England would be scrapped in order to cut back on bureaucracy.

The announcement comes as the country's National Health Service (NHS), which provides free health care to almost the whole population, increasingly comes under fire for long waiting lists and a number of medical scandals.

What did Starmer say?

"Overstretched, unfocused, trying to do too much, doing it badly," Starmer said while on a visit to the eastern English city of Hull.

"I can't in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy. That money could and should be spent on nurses, doctors, operations, GP appointments," he said.

"So today, I can announce we're going to cut bureaucracy ... focus government on the priorities of working people, shift money to the front line."

"So I'm bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arms-length body, NHS England."

Starmer's NHS announcement comes as the British leader intends to make the country's public service "more agile." 

According to Starmer, using artificial intelligence and reducing Britain's civil service can save the government 45 billion pounds ($58.3 billion or €53.5 billion) a year.

Some media have dubbed the prime minister's plans "Project Chainsaw," which references Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the US — a comparison Starmer's office has rejected.

Edited by: Kieran Burke