"Why is test and trace such a bloody shambles?" Nick Ferrari asks Matt Hancock

18 September 2020, 08:22 | Updated: 18 September 2020, 08:40

By EJ Ward

@EJWardNews

Nick Ferrari grilled Health Secretary Matt Hancock asking why members of the public were being asked to drive across England to get a coronavirus test.

In the wake of an LBC investigation which revealed members of the public were being asked to drive hundreds of miles in some cases for a coronavirus test, Nick Ferrari asked Health Secretary Matt Hancock why his listeners were driving halfway around the country to get tests.

After looking at some of the Government's successes during the coronavirus crisis, Nick put a very direct question to the Health Secretary.

"Why is Test and Trace such a bloody shambles?" He asked.

Mr Hancock answered by saying he would like to add to Nick's list of Government successes.

"We built a record capacity for coronavirus testing that we didn't have at the start, and we've built a contact tracing system that means hundreds of thousands of people have stayed and home and self-isolated," he told LBC.

The Health Secretary said it was a "difficult moment" and important to "reinforce the basics."

Urging the public to comply with the test and trace rules, Mr Hancock said if someone calls from the NHS asking them to self-isolate then they "really must."

Nick pressed the Government Minister on what happens if someone needs a test questioning why has the system failed "so badly" with people driving half the length of the country.

"Baroness Harding has done an "absolutely extraordinary job," Mr Hancock told Nick.

"Well that's certainly one word," Nick shot back.

The Health Secretary said Baroness Harding hard worked to build the testing capacity that currently existed and they were currently "on track" to get to 500,000 test a day by the end of October.

When Nick asked about the rationing of tests, the Minister said he could "accept that there are challenges because the demand has shot up."

Watch the whole fascinating exchange in the video at the top of the page.