Health chiefs question Boris Johnson’s Operation Moonshot mass testing plan

Scientists and health professionals have raised doubts about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Operation Moonshot plan for mass coronavirus testing.

The PM hopes millions of COVID-19 tests including some giving results within minutes could be processed daily.

But experts say there are issues with laboratory capacity for current tests, while the technology for more rapid tests does not, as yet, exist.

The British medical journal says leaked memos show the plan could cost £100bn.

Speaking after his announcement that gatherings in England are to be restricted to six people from Monday, Mr Johnson said the government was working hard to increase testing capacity to 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.