Matt Hancock has defended the Government's approach to counting the number of daily coronavirus tests after the UK's statistics watchdog criticised the official figures.
Speaking at the daily Covid-19 press conference at Downing Street on Tuesday, the Health Secretary said that the way the Government presented the figures is "the best that we can".
Mr Hancock claimed that the Government's counting method was the "simplest way of presenting a very complex picture".
He also said the Government was working with the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) "to make sure that we are as transparent as possible" and "to make sure that the statistics are constantly improved".
It comes after UKSA chairman Sir David Norgrove criticised the way the figures are presented at the daily briefings, with the headline total including both tests carried out and those which have been posted to recipients but not yet conducted.
The Government has hit targets aimed at carrying out 100,000 tests a day by the end of April and having the capacity for 200,000 tests of various kinds by the end of May.
But Sir David said: "The testing statistics still fall well short of its expectations.
"It is not surprising that given their inadequacy data on testing are so widely criticised and often mistrusted.
"For test and trace to be effective we all need confidence in the data. The Health Secretary must start publishing the numbers of people tested and the number of contacts traced.
"He must stop including mailed tests as completed. He must offer a full update on how many care home residents, care staff and NHS staff have been routinely tested whether symptomatic or not."
