The leaders of Scotland and Wales have blasted Boris Johnson’s “reckless” plan to end free Covid tests.
A Cabinet meeting to sign off the Prime Minister’s ‘living with Covid’ plan was delayed today amid a last-minute row over how testing in future will be funded.
The Tory leader is thought to want to start winding down the UK’s testing infrastructure within weeks to save billions of pounds.
It’s understood that despite the row, his plan will broadly include an end date for free tests for the whole population - though they could continue fo the most vulnerable.
But Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “If this is correct, it’s catastrophic for the UK’s ability to ensure adequate Covid surveillance, outbreak management etc in future.
“To allow significant dismantling of the testing infrastructure built up in last 2 years would be inexcusable negligence given ongoing risks.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson added: “Any decision to change the existing National Testing Programme would be premature and reckless.
“Testing has played a pivotal role in breaking chains of transmission of Covid, and has acted as a powerful surveillance tool helping us to detect and respond rapidly to emerging variants.
“It is clearly essential that this continues.
“Any decision to effectively turn off the tap on our National Testing Programme with no future plans in place to reactivate it would put people at risk. This is not acceptable.
“In Wales, we will continue to make decisions to protect the health of people based on the scientific evidence available to us.”
It sets up a major clash between the nations of the UK as the Prime Minister puts the finishing touches to his plan ahead of a 4.30pm announcement in Parliament, and 6.30pm press conference to the nation.
It is thought the row was about how to pay for the plan, with the Department of Health putting forward requests that had to be costed.
The 'living with Covid' plan itself remains in a similar format to what was being finalised over the weekend.
Asked if free testing would end, Boris Johnson ’s official spokesman said: “I’m not going to be drawn into getting into exactly what is or isn’t in the plan.”
He added: “We continue to have discussions with the Welsh government and other devolved administrations and continue to update them.”
Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, said the UK is “doing a lot more testing than we need” but told the BBC : “I think sliding back to a purely commercial model of testing is going to be problematic.”
Tory MP Tim Loughton welcomed the end of restrictions but warned “I have slight apprehensions” about the end of free testing.
He told the BBC’s Westminster Hour: “I think we still do need to have testing available widely.
“Because I think that is the reassurance people can have that they’ve taken all possible precautions and they don’t want to infect other people.”
Dan Shears of the GMB union said: “The Prime Minister’s announcement is premature and nothing more than a desperate attempt to buy popularity with the public.
"Removing covid restrictions doesn't mean the virus has gone away. Thousands of workers will continue to be infected each day and many have yet to be fully vaccinated.
“GMB will put pressure on bosses to provide protective measures until case numbers are much lower. Workers should not lose pay or be disciplined for falling ill through no fault of their own.”
“The real risk is, without the requirement to self-isolate, many workers drop to the meagre Statutory Sick Pay rate if they take time off from work - and face disciplinary action too.
"If Ministers want to keep people with covid at work, this is the way to do it. It will prolong the pandemic and create new cases of long covid.”
Boris Johnson will today set out plans to scrap England's remaining Covid rules despite warnings from top scientists to remain cautious.
The move will be welcomed by Tory MPs despite calls for experts claiming that some precautions could still be needed.
The Prime Minister, expected to be flanked by the Government's top scientists, will likely warn people to take steps to continue protecting them from the disease.
Labour has claimed that the "living with Covid" plans have been turbo-charged to shore up support from MPs angry about the partygate scandal.
The bombshell news that the Queen tested positive for the virus on Sunday provides a difficult backdrop to the decision to drop restrictions after nearly two years.
Self isolation laws for people who test positive for the virus are due to be axed from the end of this week, handing the decision on whether to stay home to the public.
Free Covid testing is expected to be drastically scaled back, with possible exceptions for the elderly and vulnerable.
No date has yet been set ditching free PCRs and lateral flow tests but it is not expected to be immediately.
Local councils are set to take on responsibility for the Covid response in their areas. However, international travel rules - including passenger locator forms for all, and tests for the unvaccinated - are expected to remain in place for now.
Mr Johnson admitted on Sunday that the pandemic was not over, but added: "Thanks to the incredible vaccine rollout we are now one step closer towards a return to normality and finally giving people back their freedoms while continuing to protect ourselves and others."
Scientists urged caution, however, with one in 20 people currently infected with Covid and 150 people dying each day.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association, said infections need to fall further before the rules were relaxed and called on ministers to release data to support their decision. "It does appear as if the Government is trying to pretend that Covid doesn't exist in the day-to-day lives of so many people.”
Prof Robert West, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Insights group on Behaviours (Spi-B), said he thought the Government was now "abdicating its own responsibility for looking after its population".
He added: "It looks as though what the Government has said is that it accepts that thecountry is going to have to live with somewhere between 20,000 and 80,000 Covid deaths a year and isn't really going to do anything about it.
“Now that seems to me to be irresponsible."
