London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Reports reveal UK’s Covid-19 test & trace consultants are paid up to £7,360 a DAY, triggering epidemic of Twitter anger

Reports reveal UK’s Covid-19 test & trace consultants are paid up to £7,360 a DAY, triggering epidemic of Twitter anger

Britons have lashed out at their government after reports emerged that private consultants hired to help run the country’s test and trace program receive massive salaries, despite the initiative being marred by issues.

Documents obtained by Sky News purportedly show that senior executives from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which was enlisted to aid with the testing regime, are paid more than £7,000 ($9,100) for a day’s work. The shocking daily rate is equivalent to an annual salary of around £1.5 million ($1.95 million). The Guardian later corroborated the story.

Individual consultants from the firm take home up to £2,400 ($3,110) a day, while managers who are overseeing the Covid-19 test and trace program receive £6,250 ($8,100) for their daily duties.

The government has budgeted £12 billion to pay for the testing scheme, making it one of the costliest programs in recent years. Despite its high price tag, the initiative has been fraught with problems. Last week a major glitch led to 16,000 positive tests vanishing from a government database, creating less than ideal conditions for accurately “tracing” the virus.

News of the generous payouts prompted “£7,360 a DAY” to trend on Twitter in the UK, with social media users venting about the outrageous private sector contracts.

Many argued that the UK government had no business doling out so much cash when its own employees make only a fraction of what BCG consultants receive. Just one percent of UK civil servants are paid more than £80,000 a year.


“In a single week govt is paying these senior consultants more than they pay an experienced nurse in a year,”tweeted Sky News Economics Editor Ed Conway.

Dishing out that kind of cash is totally unacceptable, especially considering that the testing system “doesn’t even work,” numerous Twitter users complained.

Others wondered why the country needed test and trace “consultants” in the first place, and suggested the program was a money grab fueled by corruption and nepotism.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has come under increasing scrutiny for its coronavirus response as the country faces severe economic hardship following lockdown orders and other restrictive measures. Johnson rolled out a controversial new three-tiered restrictions system earlier this week.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
×