The government’s flagship ‘Operation Moonshot’ mass testing programme was never going to succeed, one of England’s top medical advisers told the Covid inquiry.
The scheme, which was unveiled by then health secretary Matt Hancock in September 2020, was intended to introduce same-day Covid testing for up to 10 million people in England.
Leaked government plans published in the British Medical Journal suggest it was expected to cost £100bn and ministers hoped it was the key to returning to normal life.
