We would love to hear your thoughts about our site and services, please take our survey here.
Diolch yn fawr
I wrote this other week to Sir Keir, hoping it might be raised at todayyPMQ’s:
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for contacting and sending over this briefing. I will ensure that Keir receives a copy of this [as well as the relevant member of his team] and we will be back in touch if we require any further information.
Best wishes,
Office of Keir Starmer MP
Leader of the Opposition
________________________________________
From: K Jones
Sent: 8 June 2021 09:37
To: STARMER, Keir
Subject: Lateral Flow test scandal
Dear Mr Starmer, my name is Kevin Jones I live in N Wales. I have a small shareholding in a Yorkshire company called Avacta.
They have developed a gold standard lateral flow test, it is by all accounts 100% accurate for detecting Covid19.
Their test was to be 'The Moonshot' Johnson/Han**** lauded in The Commons some months ago.
It was originally designed as a saliva test but HMG changed the goal posts and asked Avacta to redesign it as an anterial nasal test instead.
The anterial nasal test is different from the Innova test HMG are currently using which requires swabbing of the top of the nose cavity, which as you are no doubt aware is rather uncomfortable. Avacta's test is much easier to use especially for children.
After months of delay and 'heel dragging' by Porton Down Avacta's Lateral flow test has finally been CE marked and has MHRA approval.
There's no doubt that the UK now has the best lateral flow test in the world, and one would think our government would be eager
to publicize this fact and start using it immediately. But so far there has been a deafening silence from HMG.
One has to wonder why this is!
HMG has spent billions of pounds buying and importing Innova's test from China and millions to Virgin and BA to ship them to the UK.
It only takes a little research to determine that Innova's LFT is substandard which has been giving thousands of false positive and false negative results.
As an example my daughter has just recovered from Covid (the Indian variant), she had a positive PCR test and yet at the height of the infection she
tested negative twice using the HMG supplied Innova test.
Another fact which the government has kept under wraps is that the original Innova test instructions say it should not be used if you are asymptomatic. But as it has been re-packaged under the NHS branding it fails to mention this fact.
By now you may think I have a vested interest in Avacta, and to some extent I do. But it makes little financial difference to me or other shareholders if HMG want to keep using Innova, Avacta will sell every test they make at a higher margin possibly to Europe and the USA under FDA emergency approval act.
I do feel however that some investigation is required to find out why HMG are happy to continue using a substandard test instead of making Avacta their preferred choice. Also one has to consider the embarrassment to the UK if the planet's best test is
I wonder how many deaths have been caused by false negative results from Innova tests
This could result in the biggest class action court case the world has ever seen!
Bojo got to mention sovereign test 5pm surely
A takeover by one of the giants would certainly mean ava600 would be shelved maybe for good
Enabling the continued sale of expensive cancer drugs
The government have dragged their heels validating the test so now they will be under immense pressure to place orders for the test Otherwise all the tests will be sold in Europe and further afield. There might not be any capacity to manufacture for the government test
On news Gmb this morning they demonstrated how to use a test but the test was branded with just NHS not the usual Innova
Announcement by BJ 1.30 this could be the moment possibly