THE PFI deal to build the new £451m Royal Liverpool Hospital is a costly political "fix" that will put its future at risk, a damning TV exposé claimed last night.

The respected Panorama programme claimed the calculations used to justify the use of private finance – rather than a government grant – to replace the ageing hospital were twisted to achieve the desired answer.

The programme cited internal Department of Health (DoH) documents, suggesting the PFI proposal initially failed a computerised “value for money” (VfM) test by quite a wide margin.

Officials then ordered a fresh VfM assessment, predicting significantly higher costs if the government borrowed the money to rebuild the Royal.

This time, the calculations came out in favour of the PFI option – but only by the wafer-thin margin of 0.03%.

Most worryingly, Panorama quoted one internal memo warning the risk of the Royal Liverpool being unable to afford its PFI repayments was "significant . . . .leaving the trust in deficit when the scheme is complete".

In recent weeks, three other NHS trusts in England have told Health Secretary Andrew Lansley they cannot meet their PFI bills – with up to 20 more causing concern.