Rachel Reeves, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, responding to reports that Serco’s profit jumped 53 per cent in the first six months of the year during the coronavirus crisis, said:

“The Conservatives have consistently tried to privatise throughout this pandemic and turn to a small number of corporations instead of using public health expertise.

“The Government’s decision to hand SERCO millions for contact tracing has been an expensive mistake in comparison to what can be achieved by local councils and established public health approaches.

“Ministers should swallow their pride, learn lessons and choose to better support the public sector instead of SERCO’s shareholders.”