Ian Blackford has blasted Boris Johnson amid reports the UK Government could soon make people pay for lateral flow tests.
The SNP's Westminster leader has demanded Scots should still be able to test themselves for covid at home for free if they show symptoms of the virus.
It comes as the Prime Minister today said "we will be testing at a much lower level” and that "we don’t need to keep spending at a rate of £2 billion a month".
Asked about the system of free testing and the possibility of losing early warning signals, he said: “I want to make sure that we have capability to spot stuff and to snap back up as fast as we need to.”
Nicola Sturgeon will update MSPs on Tuesday on the Scottish Government's new framework for dealing with the pandemic.
And Blackford today insisted that free testing should remain an option for anyone who needs it
The SNP MP said:"I would say to the Prime Minister that he's got to make sure that anything he does is based on scientific evidence.
"We know the World Health Organisation are deeply concerned about this.
"We need to make sure people are given fair and appropriate guidance - and that should be, if you have the virus, you should still be isolating.
"One real concern we have is this suggestion that access to free testing may end.
"The First Minister will give her update to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, but it's really important that we have within our toolbox that ability for people to get tested and to be able to do that themselves at home.
"The UK Government must stand by its commitment that it gave previously that all the devolved nations will get access to this support if they need it.
"This is of course is a four nation approach.
"We can't be put into a situation that our health is being imperilled by the decisions that Boris Johnson may be making to save his own political skin.
"Because let's remember that a number of his backbenchers that rebelled against his covid plans a matter of weeks ago."
Johnson had earlier said: "We need resilience but we don’t need to keep, for instance on testing, we don’t need to keep spending at a rate of £2 billion a month, which is what we were doing in January.”
Asked how Covid will be spotted if there is no testing, the PM added: “We will be testing at a much lower level.
“I’m afraid what we can’t do is continue with the – as the number of cases diminishes and certainly the number of patients in hospital is thankfully coming down now, the number of cases in ICU is certainly way, way down, we’re in a different world.
“I think it is important that people should feel confident again and that people should feel able to go back to work in the normal way. I do want to see our country really getting back on its feet.”
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