PCR travel tests need better policing, warns ex-watchdog boss Andrew Tyrie

Former CMA chair calls for enforcement of at least minimum standards in sector which is becoming ‘a massive rip-off’

Poor service from suppliers of PCR travel tests is “an issue of national significance”, and regulators are not doing enough to police hundreds of new businesses that have moved into the market, the former competition boss Andrew Tyrie has said.

In an interview with the Guardian, Lord Tyrie, who was chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority until last year, called for a clean up of the list of PCR test providers published on the government website, which many travellers consult before buying a kit.