UK MPs say $32bn test-and-trace system failed to curb pandemic

‘World-beating’ scheme promised by PM Boris Johnson has failed to prevent repeated COVID lockdowns, report says.

A $32bn test-and-trace system in the United Kingdom has failed to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, some MPs claimed on Wednesday, claims that were swiftly rebuked by the government. A report by the UK Parliament’s cross-party Public Accounts Committee said the scheme had not achieved a key goal of avoiding a cycle of national lockdowns in England, despite a 23-billion-pound outlay. “Despite the unimaginable resources thrown at this project Test and Trace cannot point to a measurable difference to the progress of the pandemic,” chair of the committee and opposition Labour party MP Meg Hillier said.