LABOUR has urged the government to continue publishing the daily coronavirus-related death figures for the sake of transparency.

Today’s comment comes after reports that the government is considering ending the daily publication of deaths associated with Covid-19.

Shadow health minister Justin Madders said: “While there may be issues with how the figures are collated, ministers must find solutions rather than end the publication of these statistics.

“Throughout the pandemic there has been a failure to publish accurate statistics on a whole range of matters, from the number of people tested each day to the constant revision of the number of Covid-related deaths. 

“It is vital that ministers commit to continuing to publish daily death figures.

“Failing to do so risks sending the message out that the virus has been beaten when we know full well it is still circulating.”

Last month Health Secretary Matt Hancock ordered an urgent review into how Public Health England calculated its figures after researchers claimed that the way the deaths were reported in England had led to an exaggeration of testing due to statistical flaws.