Downing Street refused to guarantee Public Health England would continue in its current form after Tory MPs called for it to be scrapped. It comes after Boris Johnson yesterday said some parts of the state had been "sluggish" in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Public Health England has been responsible for much of the controversial testing programme in England, which saw widespread community testing axed in March. Boris Johnson's official spokesman today insisted PHE was playing a "key role" but did not rule out whether it could undergo major reforms or be scrapped. He said: “PHE are playing a key role in our response working on important issues such as detection, surveillance, contact-tracing and testing.

Source: Daily Mirror July 01, 2020 15:22 UTC