A UK minister dodged a question on whether the government had met its coronavirus testing target by hitting out at “media commentators” who suggested Whitehall was being inconsistent in its approach to the pandemic.
Robert Buckland said the “developing knowledge about this virus” necessitated changes in tack that may “smack of inconsistency” but in fact reflected ministers’ acknowledgement of expert advice and their desire to be open with the public.
But the justice secretary had been asked to address an entirely different question. BBC Breakfast’s Louise Minchin had asked him about an earlier dubious statement to the programme by his colleague Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey, who said that the government’s target of carrying out 100,000 daily tests had been met on a “handful” of occasions.
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The government has set a string of targets for daily coronavirus testing and only met its deadline of 100,000 diagnostic runs at the end of April by including the number it had posted out, rather than the number completed and analysed. This was still the case on Sunday.
“Do you accept that undermines trust?” Ms Minchin asked Mr Buckland during an interview on Wednesday.
The minister said: “I think it’s important for government to be straightforward, I think where we’ve faced challenges I think everybody’s known about it … The developing knowledge about this virus means that we have to adapt and change our approach, which, at times, media commentators and those asking questions might think smacks of inconsistency.
“I don’t think it is, I think it’s a government acknowledging that this is a fast-developing situation and doing its very best to level with people and to get on and look forward.”
Pressed by Ms Minchin on whether Ms Coffey got the 100,000 tests figure wrong, he added: “I didn’t know precisely what Therese said, I think she was describing some of the statistics and the variable days that we see people being able to be tested or not. I think that was a direct answer I’m sure to a direct question. I know that she, together with other ministers, has been working flat-out.”
Pointing to the Department of Work and Pensions’ efforts to process “millions” of new universal credit claims, Mr Buckland said there were “plenty of examples of success, but I accept that as the position develops, government is going to have to change and adapt its approach, which may at times look like inconsistency, but which is about a government acknowledging that this is a fast-moving situation”.
