BORIS Johnson defended the test and trace system under fire, insisting the £ 37 billion bill is worth the money.

The prime minister stepped in after a former finance chief called it “the most wasteful and inept public spending program ever”.

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Boris Johnson defended the Test and Trace system, insisting the £ 37 billion bill is worth the money

Boris hit back during the Prime Minister’s questions, saying, “Thanks to NHS Test and Trace, we can send kids back to school and carefully and irreversibly start reopening our economy and starting our lives over again.”

And Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he believed the team behind Test and Trace “did a great job.”

Mr Hancock told the BBC, “The team built this testing capacity from scratch a year ago and they did a great job and I am incredibly grateful to them.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a further £ 15 billion for Test and Trace last week, bringing the total bill to over £ 37 billion over two years.

In a report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the government was asked to justify “staggering the investment” of taxpayers’ money.

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Government defends NHS Test and Trace after report says Covid has no clear impact despite a £ 37 billion budget

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