Test and trace data collected from pubs and other outlets before lockdown was barely used, according to a confidential report obtained by Sky News.

Track trace unsplash john cameron
Photograph: Unsplash

Sky News said: “The report admits that the failure of the £22bn service to use the data for alerts or contact tracing meant ‘thousands of people’ were not warned they might be at risk of infection, ‘potentially leading to the spread of the virus’.

“To make matters worse, when coronavirus data from venues was used, public health officials encouraged pubs and restaurants to contact customers directly — a breach of data protection law which could leave businesses facing legal action.”

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, commented: “It is incredibly frustrating. Our teams worked really hard to capture that data on the understanding it was going to be used should there be problems.

“To hear it wasn’t used, and in fact we had further restrictions without really any clear evidence that there was a problem with hospitality, is a major cause for concern.”