Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock ‘could face court’ over test and trace disaster

Campaign groups claim Johnson broke equality laws

Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock could end up in court over their handling of the test and trace system, according to the Daily Mirror. Campaign groups have launched action against the prime minister over his appointment of Tory peer Dido Harding as the new head of the National Institute of Health Protection. Harding is also in charge of test and trace. Claims have been made against Johnson's appointment of Harding by the Good Law Project, who claim he breached equality laws by not advertising the position. Barrister Jolyon Maugham, director of the Good Law said: “Appointments seem to be about who you know rather than what you know.” Meanwhile, health secretary Matt Hancock faces serious questions over the security of the test and trace software after hackers accessed the details of customers at pubs and restaurants. The Runnymede Trust are also taking action against the government. Dr Halima Begum, of Runnymede Trust, said: “They were unfair to those born without a silver spoon in their mouth.” Boris Johnson has until November 11 to respond to claims of two breaches of the Equalities Act 2010, or he could end up in court over the matter. No 10 told the Mirror they would not comment on any “pending or ongoing litigation”. This comes after Johnson announced a second full national lockdown. Two and a half hours after it was initially scheduled, Johnson gave a poorly executed press briefing, to confirm what had already been leaked to the press. It is affectively a fourth tier, with bars and non essential retail shops closed. The plan is to re-open each region in line with the level of risk, but this morning Michael Gove admitted this month long lockdown could be extended. Lest we forget that in March, what was originally a three week lockdown went on for months.