London: Britain's National Health Service has pulled out of a contentious agreement that gave government officials access to confidential patient data to help track down people suspected of breaking immigration laws.
Some doctors and lawmakers objected to the data-sharing, saying it violated doctor-patient confidentiality and left sick people fearful of seeking medical help.
After human-rights campaigners mounted a legal challenge, the government said in May that it was suspending the agreement while new terms were drawn up that narrowed the data-sharing to cases of "serious criminality."
The health service's IT agency, NHS Digital, said on Monday it had received a "revised narrowed request" for information-sharing and would consider whether it was in the public interest. It said that in the meantime, "we have formally closed-out our participation" in the existing agreement.
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