Boris Johnson vows test and trace scheme will be in place by 1 June after Keir Starmer presses him over delay

UK will have 25,000 contact tracers by beginning of next month, the PM says

Boris Johnson has vowed the government’s test, track and trace scheme to curb the spread of coronavirus will be in place by 1 June.

Under pressure from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister gave a guarantee that the operation would be ready within days – despite concerns over the readiness of a new smartphone app and the number of contact tracers to carry out the scheme.

In a fraught exchange at prime minister’s questions, Mr Johnson first replied that he was ”confident” that the UK will have a test-and-trace operation in place by June.

He then went further, confirming that a “world beating” system “will be in place” by the beginning of next month.

The test, track and trace scheme is critical part of the government’s plans to ease the lockdown. Using an army of contact tracers and a smartphone app, the scheme aims to prevent a surge in coronavirus cases as businesses and schools begin to operate in England again.

But despite plans to press ahead with reopening schools to some pupils on 1 June, the rollout of the mobile tracking app has been beset with difficulties.

Sir Keir said the lack of effective tracing of infected people amounted to a ”huge hole in our defences” and compared the grim UK death toll to places with intensive test and tracing such as Germany and South Korea, where deaths stand at around 1,000 and 300 respectively.

The prime minister accused Sir Keir of “feigning ignorance” on the figures, telling MPs the government was making “fast progress” in testing and tracing, and there will be 25,000 trackers who are able to cope with 10,000 new cases a day.

Mr Johnson went on: “So we’re making fast progress in testing and tracing and I have great confidence that by 1 June we will have a system … that will help us very greatly to defeat this disease and move the country forward.”

Sir Keir replied: “This is the last PMQs for two weeks, can the prime minister indicate that an effective test, trace and isolate system will be in place by 1 June, Monday week?”

Mr Johnson replied: “What he heard is that we have growing confidence that we will have a test, track and trace operation that will be world-beating and yes, it will be in place, it will be in place by 1 June.”

His comments came after the deputy chief scientific adviser Professor Dame Angela McLean said an effective test and trace system was needed to reopen schools as the government was embroiled in a furious row with unions and teachers over whether it was safe to restart classes.

Prof McLean told the Downing Street press conference on Tuesday that easing of lockdown measures needed to be based on “observed levels of incidence in places that there’s going to be change, not on a fixed date”.

The NHS coronavirus app is being trialled on the Isle of Wight, with a wider roll out first promised by mid-May. But security researchers have pointed to wide-ranging flaws in the app, including risks to users’ privacy and the potential for abuse.

Outsourcing giant Serco, which is training staff, also apologised for accidentally sharing the email addresses of some 300 contact tracers.