Sunday 3 May - Grant Shapps Fewer people would have died from coronavirus in the UK if the country had greater testing capacity sooner, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said. Speaking on Sunday, Mr Shapps said “many things” could have been different if the UK’s testing capacity was above 100,000 before Covid-19 spread in the country. Asked whether fewer people would have died if testing capacity had been greater sooner, Mr Shapps told BBC Andrew Marr Show: “Yes.
Tuesday 5 May - Sir Patrick Vallance The UK failed to ramp up coronavirus testing quickly enough in the early stages of the pandemic, the Government's chief scientific adviser has admitted.
Sir Patrick Vallance told MPs on the health select committee that testing is "just part of the system that you need to get right" as he was quizzed about the management of the Covid-19 outbreak. In early March, ministers promised to expand the number of tests carried out each day to 10,000 at a time when just over 1,200 people had been tested in total.
A week later Boris Johnson announced the ambition of carrying out 25,000 tests a day, but provided no detail, with just 5,779 tests carried out that day. By this point the World Health Organisation had urged countries to "test, test, test" if they wanted to contain the outbreak.
Asked if there is anything he would have changed about how the outbreak was handled in the UK, Sir Patrick said: "I think that probably we, in the early phases, and I've said this before, I think if we'd managed to ramp up testing capacity quicker it would have been beneficial."
Wednesday 6 May - James Brokenshire James Brokenshire has been speaking on BBC Breakfast, and pushed on the UK’s death toll, which is now the highest in Europe, Brokenshire said after the pandemic there will be a chance to see “what mistakes have been made”.
Pushed on testing, Brokenshire said the government decided to stop testing and tracing for coronavirus in the community on March 12 due to a “shift” in expert advice. He said:
"We’ve always been informed by the expert advice in this. There was a shift in terms of how testing was done - we’ve already heard about some of the issues of overall capacity at that point of time and some of the evidence that (Sir) Patrick Vallance, our chief scientific officer (sic), has given."
Asked whether, had there been the capacity, track-and-tracing should have continued, the Home Office minister said:
"Would there have been benefit in having that extra capacity, as Patrick Vallance highlighted in his evidence yesterday? Yes.
The challenge that we had was that we have some fantastic laboratories, some fantastic expertise, but it has been the capacity restraints that we have had, and therefore that has posed challenges, but also that has now been ramped up to go from 2,000 tests (per day) in February to 120,000 at the end of April."
So, it's over to you Matt, are you going to stick to your guns, continue with the "right things at the right time" mantra ? Or will you finally concede that things could have bene done better ?
You will feel much better if you open up and let it all out. You know it, I know, the forum knows it.
Your so called mates have been setting you up as the fall guy for some time, and you continue, on a daily basis, to make it so easy for them to do so.
Here is your change to show a bit of humility, regardless of the tone adopted by Kay Burley
Do it Matt, utter the words that you know need to be said, speak the truth.
If you choose not to, all is not lost. Cider will continue to back you up
How will Hancock react when Burley questions him over his response to Dr Rosena Allin-Khan in the House of Commons yesterday ? He is certain to be asked about it, Burley may even ask him to apologise, stand by for action.
How will Hancock react when Burley questions him over his response to Dr Rosena Allin-Khan in the House of Commons yesterday ?He is certain to be asked about it, Burley may even ask him to apologise, stand by for action.
no can-do Angoose, away to Asda for some bananas etc which is infinitely more exciting than watching Hancock or any other minister ramble on again
is anybody wanting anything?
no can-do Angoose, away to Asda for some bananas etc which is infinitely moreexciting than watching Hancock or any other minister ramble on againis anybody wanting anything?
The economy is in deep dudu. Wait and see what happens to the best scientific advice!
2 metre rule being best scientific advice!That will come back to bite!The economy is in deep dudu. Wait and see what happens to the best scientific advice!
if usa ( or terrorist outfit) was going to plant a virus in china they would plant it outside the test facilities
ditto russians using nerve agent close to uk test facility...
if usa ( or terrorist outfit) was going to plant a virus in china they would plant it outside the test facilitiesditto russians using nerve agent close to uk test facility...
i mean its not a bad interview from a human point of view but her attitude is so different to that which she had when labour bloke was on earlier.
she really has missed a chance, but doubtless will have earned brownie points and a nice bung from the owner of sky, and tories will be flocking for her interviews.
i mean its not a bad interview from a human point of view but her attitude is so different to that which shehad when labour bloke was on earlier.she really has missed a chance, but doubtless will have earned brownie points and a nice bung fromthe own
handjob new months before the rest of us,same handjob who stood in commons to tell the world no country is better prepared to deal with the virus than the uk,which makes 32,000/50,000 deaths later a complete and utter shoite show
handjob new months before the rest of us,same handjob who stood in commons to tell the world no country is better prepared to deal with the virus than the uk,which makes 32,000/50,000 deaths later a complete and utter shoite show
Yep, i(Matt) was brill from early on in Jan and so was Boris, we had the finger on the pulse so early. He has some front to keep a straight face,surely he doesn't believe himself?
Yep, i(Matt) was brill from early on in Jan and so was Boris, we had the finger on the pulse so early.He has some front to keep a straight face,surely he doesn't believe himself?
His clanger this morning was "we have,from the start worked very hard to protect people in care home"
Everywhere has problems with care homes but that statement will be torn asunder down the line.
His clanger this morning was "we have,from the start worked very hard to protect people in care home"Everywhere has problems with care homes but that statement will be torn asunder down the line.
the questions burley didn't ask but a 5 yr old would have done
were you speechless at jennricks tour of the uk.
what about your tone in commons yesterday
why have you failed to reach your testing target 3 days running
the questions burley didn't ask but a 5 yr old would have donewere you speechless at jennricks tour of the uk.what about your tone in commons yesterdaywhy have you failed to reach your testing target 3 days running
Every waking hour on here obsessing about Corona, furiously copy/pasting from the Guardian and trying to score oathetic political points at every turn (while saying he isn't), to a crowd of like minded haters who believe they have all the answers - but have the IQs of goldfish and couldn't run a bath.
Every waking hour on here obsessing about Corona, furiously copy/pasting from the Guardian and trying to score oathetic political points at every turn (while saying he isn't), to a crowd of like minded haters who believe they have all the answers - b
Matt Hancock (UK Health Secretary) and Richard Gleave (Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer of Public Health England) Involved in the Same Private UK Company ------------------------------------------------------------ More conflict of interest? No, of course not! They are just knowledgeable good guys wanting to protect our health!
Richard Gleave is the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer of Public Health England and is one of the two "stakeholder" members of the Porton Biopharma Board. He has worked for the Department of Health, NHS South of England and a range of NHS hospitals in a range of senior roles.
See tabs at: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09331560/officers
Richard Gleave (Non-Executive Director) of Porton Biopharma Richard Gleave  Got a gripe? NHS staff to have their own online complaints ... https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/porton-biopharma-limited Porton Biopharma Limited (PBL) is a limited liability company. It develops new vaccines, therapeutic proteins and enzyme products. It also manufactures its own licensed biopharmaceutical products to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and the UK's anthrax vaccine.
PBL works with the Department of Health and Social Care (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social... . image001-1.png Public Health England - https://www.gov.uk/government/people/richard-gleave Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer
Matt Hancock (UK Health Secretary) and Richard Gleave (Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer of Public Health England) Involved in the Same Private UK Company------------------------------------------------------------More conflict of in