The government has missed its target to reach 25,000 coronavirus tests a day as more than half of capacity lies unfilled. A government statement on March 18 said testing would be ramped up to 25,000 a day "within four weeks" - which came to an end yesterday.
But as of 9am yesterday, 15,994 tests had been carried out in Britain in the previous 24 hours. At no point has the number topped 20,000.
That is despite Downing Street saying today that total daily testing capacity is now over 35,000. The figures are likely to spark a blame game between the government and health officials.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock last night tried to disown the 25,000 target, suggesting it had been superseded when the government pledged 100,000 tests by the end of