UK government 'thwarting independent labs' efforts to step up Covid-19 testing'

Nobel winner Sir Paul Nurse says his Francis Crick Institute alone could process 60,000 tests a week

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One of the UK's most senior scientists has strongly criticised the government's approach to coronavirus testing, saying it is too slow, too centralised and stifles efforts to protect the most vulnerable.

Sir Paul Nurse, the Nobel laureate and director of the Francis Crick Institute in London, said independent laboratories could provide up to 100,000 tests a day - a third of the UK's current testing capacity - with government support.