BILLIONS more in public cash could be heading into private pockets to pay for the hoped-for coronavirus vaccine, Labour warned today.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said that the government should not squander any more taxpayers’ money after it paid private firms for useless personal protection equipment (PPE) and to run its failed test-and-trace system.

Mr Ashworth called for the appointment of a “dedicated minister for the vaccine” to oversee its distribution.