Thousands must retake Covid tests after dodgy lab exposed by The Sun gave false negatives

THOUSANDS of people must retake their coronavirus tests because a dodgy lab exposed by The Sun was giving false negative results.

At least 43,000 people given the all-clear in September and October might have had Covid.

Work has been halted at the Immensa Health Clinic in Wolverhampton over the surge in negative PCR tests following positive lateral flow results.

Most are in the West Country. The lab got a £119million taxpayer-funded contract last year months after launching.

It comes after The Sun revealed in January that workers were drinking, brawling and watching porn at the lab when they should have been handling samples.

Tory MP Nigel Mills said: “This place should have been shut down for good when The Sun ran its story.

“It is shocking it has been allowed to remain open and now there is an enormous mess.

“It's a disgrace. If shortcomings have emerged in the process here, which I strongly imagine they have, then heads should roll.

“The investigation should widen out and an audit should be carried out into other testing companies.”

Officials are contacting people who might still be infected and asking them to self-isolate if they have symptoms and get tested again while old samples are retested at other labs.