Responding to a joint statement by 70 health organisations and alliances expressing concerns about the reorganisation of public health now underway, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson said:

By scrapping the body at the core of our public health response to this global pandemic shows the Government has simply got its priorities all wrong.

There are no two ways about it, Ministers are attempting to deflect responsibility from their own mistakes with a top-down reorganisation.

Now is not the time to rearrange the deckchairs. Now is the time to listen to the experts who rightly fear the damage caused by these nonsensical plans.

The Prime Minister should instead prepare for a second wave by delivering the comprehensive strategy to test, trace and isolate every case so we can keep people safe and prevent new surges.