He assured an audience of medical professionals and patients that "there will be no privatisation of the NHS".
"The NHS has always benefited from a mix of providers, from the private sector, charities and social enterprises, and that should continue," he said.
"People want choice over their GP, where to give birth, which hospital to use. But providing that choice isn’t the same as allowing private companies to cherry-pick NHS services.
"It’s not the same as turning this treasured public service into a competition-driven, dog-eat-dog market where the NHS is flogged off to the highest bidder."
Clegg insisted that the chief duty of Monitor, the health regulator, will not be to push competition.
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