Hancock rejects claims of ‘state
● Minister urge people to sign up as civil liberties campaigners warn against the technology as death toll soars above 30,000
England’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock has dismissed warnings by civil liberties campaigners that a new coronavirus contact tracing app could open the door to widespread “state surveillance”.
Ministers are urging the public to sign up to the app - which is beginning trials on the Isle of Wight - as a way out of the current lockdown and re-starting the economy.
The government’s efforts to promote the new “test, track and trace” strategy came as official figures showed the death toll had soared past 30,000 and at least 140 NHS and care workers have lost their lives.
Ministers have run into opposition from some Tory MPS and campaign groups concerned about the potential for the state to monitor individuals’ movements and contacts through the app.
Mr Hancock however insisted it is “completely wrong” to say that the app represents a threat to civil liberties.
Instead, he said it is a “very, very positive step” which will enable people to regain some of the freedoms they had lost as a result of the lockdown.
The new NHS Covid-19 app is central to the UK Government’s “test, track and trace” strategy for controlling the spread of the disease while easing social distancing rules.
Use of the app in Scotland will only be recommended once First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is satisfied it is safe and secure, Scotland’s national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch said yesterday.
Mr Hancock said concerns about the app expressed by
‘I am a bit concerned that a similar app in Singapore only had, I think, something like a 20 per cent take-up rate’
SIR KEIR STARMER