JEREMY Hunt has responded to criticism that, as Health Secretary, he has not done enough to defend the NHS from cyber-crime in the wake of this week’s ‘ransomware’ attack.

Computer systems at NHS trusts across England and Scotland were targeted last Friday as a malicious malware spread around the world - forcing many hospitals, pharmacies and GP surgeries to cancel services and appointments.

Locally, the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital was forced to close its walk in X-ray service on Monday, but Frimley Park and the Royal Surrey hospitals were reportedly unaffected.

Following the attack, Health Secretary and Conservative candidate for South West Surrey, Mr Hunt, has been criticised for failing to heed warnings about the cyber-threat to the NHS - both by NHS leaders and political rivals national and local.

One of Mr Hunt’s four rivals for election in SW Surrey on June 8, UKIP’s Mark Webber said in a statement: “Applying security patches is a basic part of IT systems administration – it is not a big cost item.

“Companies such as Amazon and Google operate much larger and more complex IT systems than those used in the NHS, for lower relative cost.

“The majority of workers in the NHS are skilled and dedicated. But unfortunately, there is a ‘no blame’ culture in the public sector, particularly among senior management.

“Heads must roll, but I doubt anyone will be fired over this. The solution is to restore accountability, cut bureaucracy, streamline processes, and bring in more expertise from the private sector.”

Responding to the attack, Mr Hunt said: “The NHS has been investing extensively in measures to protect it from cyber-attacks.

“Last year I set up the world’s first health system cyber centre as well as making it part of the standard NHS contract that all organisations need to follow approved guidelines.

“Thanks to that - and brilliant commitment by NHS staff when the attack happened - over 95 per cent of services were up and running normally for the public within 24 hours.

“We are very lucky to have such committed staff who literally dropped everything last weekend - but this shows we must remain vigilant.”