VIRGIN has been awarded nearly £2billion worth of NHS contracts over the past five years, it was reported last night.

Sir Richard Branson’s company has now become one of the UK’s leading healthcare providers, according to The Guardian.

Virgin Care and its subsidiaries reportedly hold more than 400 contracts to provide healthcare in prisons, school immunisation programmes and dementia care for the elderly.

Sara Gorton, the head of health at the trade union Unison, said: “While the NHS remains dangerously short of funds, taxpayers’ money shouldn’t be wasted on these dangerous experiments in privatisation.”

Virgin Care said: “Virgin Care accounts for less than 1% of the Virgin Group’s value and has not made a profit to date.”