BARONESS HARDING HEAD OF TEST AND TRACE
Baroness Harding is executive chairman of the NHS Test and Trace service and interim executive chairman of the Government’s new National Institute for Health Protection.
She was chief executive of Talktalk in 2015 when 157,000 of its customers had their data stolen.
As head of NHS Test and Trace, she has faced repeated criticism, drawing derision last month for claims that no one had expected to see the surge in pressures on testing services when schools returned after an extended leave. Lady Harding has been appointed interim executive chairman of the body which will replace Public Health England and she has been tipped as a possible future head of the NHS.
Although the data fiasco involved the transfer of files between PHE and NHS Test and Trace, last night the responsibility landed squarely on PHE because its systems capped the amount of data which could be transferred.