Hancock confirms that Public Health England is being scrapped

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has come forward saying that getting rid of Public Health England would not lead to disruption on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning.

Mr Hancock has suggested that the agency could be replaced with a new organisation, the National Institue for Health Protection, in order to address and tackle coronavirus.

Major health bodies have warned ministers that such a move could risk staff members becoming distracted when they should be concentrating on preventing a second wave of the virus.

Moreover, the abolishment of the agency has fed ideas that the UK government may be seeking to assign blame onto Public Health England over their handling of COVID-19.

The new body replacing Public Health England will be headed by Dido Harding, the current overseer of the test and trace system, which has been criticised for reaching those who are at risk of being infected.

Despite this, Mr Hancock defended Lady Harding's position in a separate interview with LBC.