LABOUR criticised the government for paying social media “influencers” to promote the Covid-19 test and trace system and for putting community health contracts out to tender with private firms.

In the Commons, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth called on his government counterpart Matt Hancock to pause the competitive tendering of contracts until at least the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

He urged him to invest the money in local health schemes instead, such as those seen in Leicester, where door-to-door Covid-19 testing took place under localised lockdown.