The Big Issue

I'm not making it up. The Government is using SERCO to train the 21,000 track and tracers they claim to have hired.

Meanwhile, the firecracker that is Angela McLean, the Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor, was sparking at yesterday's Covid briefing.

Andy Bell of Channel 5 News put this question: "The Chief Executive of Care England has told the parliamentary committee that people were discharged from hospital back into care homes when they were either symptomatic or simply didn’t have any COVID-19 status, they hadn’t been tested. .... Dame Angela, was there any scientific advice given at the time about doing that?"

Dame Angela: "I can’t answer that question without going back to the exact list of what advice was given when, and I don’t want to give you an answer that’s not correct. So if you’ll forgive me, could we take notice of that question? Is that okay? We can get back to you."

Bell follows up with the challenge that the Government has been too secretive about its scientific advice.

Dame Angela "Our job is to give science advice here and make sure everything we say is rooted in good quality science. I have to admit that I haven’t spent much time worrying about how secretive or not secretive it is. I can see that is going to be a big issue when we have a big look back."

Dame Angela said the scientists were awaiting a briefing on Thursday on the status of track and tracing, and more or less volunteered this line " I think really running a rapid and reliable testing system is an entirely operational issue. And so the science advice would be you need to have a rapid and reliable testing system."

Ben Fishwick: "Are you confident we do have a rapid and reliable testing system?"

Dame Angela McLean: "I think it’s getting better. And one of the things we’ve actually looked at a lot today is evidence from other countries. And it clearly is possible to set up testing systems with a 48 hour turnaround."

Who will front up Thursday's briefing - Hancock or Johnson ?