The coronavirus test and trace programme introduced in England broke a key data protection law, according to privacy campaigners.
The Department of Health and Social Care admitted to the Open Rights Group (ORG) the scheme was launched without an assessment of its impact on privacy, the group told the BBC.
ORG said the admission meant the test and trace programme has been unlawful since it started on May 28, but DHSC stresses there is no evidence data has been used in an unlawful manner.
ORG is not the only organisation to raise privacy concerns over the tracjing scheme, with a former Cabinet minister also previously warning of “serious errors” in its implementation.
Labour’s Lord Hain claimed last month that the NHS had failed to carry out its legal data protection obligations prior to the launch and had entered into data sharing relationships “on unnecessarily favourable terms to large companies”.
The track and trace smartphone app has been trialled on the Isle of Wight, but the Government has suggested it may not be ready to roll out across the UK until the winter.
There have been other privacy concerns around the world over the use of tracing apps, with Norway last month halting its programme.
Meanwhile, it has been reported Health Secretary Matt Hancock is set to confirm that local authorities will be able to access the named data of coronavirus cases as long as they abide by strict rules on data protection.
