Blame for the coronavirus testing chaos has been aimed at parents by the government.
Last week thousands of people ended up in huge queues waiting for a test as drive-through sites struggled to cope with demand.
Others logged on to the government's website only to be told to travel hundreds of miles for a swab.
Rather than accepting that testing capacity was not increased enough over the quieter summer months, the government is blaming parents for clogging up the system.
A No10 source has suggested too many parents are getting checks for kids with coughs and colds.
They claimed the surge in demand is due in part to people “not understanding when they should and shouldn’t get a test”.
"Loads of kids get sniffles in the autumn," the source told Mail Online.
"The difference now is they’re all being kept off school and trying to get corona tests."
At Prime Minister's Questions last week Boris Johnson gave his take on the testing issue.
He said: “What is happening is that the British people, quite understandably, are responding to that system with a huge, huge surge in demand.
"And so it's very important that everybody follows the guidance about when they should be getting a test.”
Professor Linda Bauld, from the University Of Edinburgh, said that testing centres had previously been overburdened by parents taking their children for "unnecessary" tests.
She warned that England and Wales were now facing the same problem.
Labour leader Keir Starmer suggested it was the government that was at fault for the testing shortages rather than parents.
He called on the Government to prioritise children and key workers so they can be tested within 24 hours.
He said: “If the Prime Minister does not get a grip of the testing crisis, children will be robbed of an education.
"We are seeing a growing flood of school closures.”
Starmer added: “The testing regime is not working.”
He called on Mr Johnson to apologise for testing being “all over the place”.
But Health Secretary Matt Hancock refused to do so because he “strongly and emphatically” supported the testing team.
Government testing chief Dido Harding claimed ministers were surprised by the surge in demand for tests last week, despite schools reopening and people being encouraged to return to work as cases continue to rise.
Children not being able to get tested has been a major problem since schools returned.
Many pupils have had to stay home following outbreaks at their schools, despite having no symptoms themselves and minimal contact with the infected.
It is thought that 740 schools in England and Wales have either had to send some or all students home due to the virus.
