EXCLUSIVE Thousands of people with COVID-19 are taking tests that will never be analysed, warn government docs marked "official sensitive"

Our "world beating" testing programme has a 185,000 swab backlog and is so stretched it's sending tests to labs in Italy and Germany 1/5

Most UK laboratories are clearing fewer tests than their capacity, as they are hit by “chaos” in supply chains, per the leak

The govt claims it has capacity for 375,000 tests a day

But the actual number of people being tested for coronavirus is closer to 62,000 a day (2/5)

Randox, a Northern Ireland firm, pays Tory MP Owen Paterson as a consultant. It won a £133m testing contract unopposed at the start of lockdown

It disposed of 12,401 used swabs in a single day on 2nd Sept

The firm has voided more than 35,000 used test kits since August (3/5)

Officials and labs are blaming each other for the chaos. Tests are mostly voided because of “swab leaks” or damage during transit

It was claimed last night that thousands of kits have had to be voided in a lab in Germany because they were transported at the wrong temperature 4/5

Compare what the government says about its testing programme with the apparent reality based on these leaked files here.

Scoop with the brilliant @TomCalver2

5/5 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/leaked-figures-reveal-scale-of-coronavirus-test-shortage-xjxprnm0v