Dominic Raab vows to get 100,000 coronavirus tests carried out every day by next week 

Dominic Raab yesterday vowed to hit the Government’s target to carry out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by next week, as he came under fire from Labour’s new leader over the country’s ‘slow’ response to the crisis.

The Foreign Secretary defended the target as he clashed with Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer in the first session of Prime Minister’s questions since March.

The clash took place in a subdued atmosphere with only a tiny number of MPs joining Mr Raab and Sir Keir in the Commons while most dialled in remotely, asking questions on big screens.

Boris Johnson, who is still recuperating at his country retreat Chequers, watched on TV.

Mr Raab, deputising for the Prime Minister, told MPs that Mr Johnson was ‘making a good recovery and is in good spirits’, although he acknowledged the PM would ‘want to be here in person’ to face Sir Keir across the Despatch Box.

Sir Keir, who was making his first appearance in the Commons since his election this month, said Labour would provide ‘constructive opposition’, adding: ‘We all want and need the Government to succeed and defeat coronavirus – but we also need the courage to challenge where we think they are getting it wrong.’

He laid into the Government’s record on testing, the supply of protective equipment and the lockdown measures. ‘Something is going wrong, and there is a pattern emerging here,’ he said. ‘We were slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on protective equipment and now slow to take up those offers from British firms.’ Mr Raab rejected the charge, saying: ‘We have been guided by the scientific advice at every step along the way.

‘If he thinks that he knows better than they do, with the benefit of hindsight, then that is his decision, but that is not the way we have proceeded, and it is not the way we will in future.’

The Foreign Secretary also defended the controversial target, set by the Health Secretary Matt Hancock, to conduct 100,000 coronavirus tests per day by the end of this month.

With just a week to go, Downing Street yesterday confirmed that just 18,206 tests were carried out on Monday, despite a testing capacity of 41,398. Mr Raab acknowledged that the Government needed to deliver an ‘exponential’ increase in the coming days. But he said he was ‘confident’ the target would be hit.

He added: ‘It is right to say that in the final week that will require a big increase, but of course a project like this requires an exponential increase in the final days, the final week, of the programme.’

Sir Keir responded saying testing was ‘obviously crucial’, but added: ‘At every stage of the pandemic, we have been very slow, and are way behind other European countries.’

Yesterday’s ‘hybrid’ session was criticised by some, with one source saying it ‘sent out the wrong message’ to have MPs in the Commons when millions are being asked to work from home.