Hundreds of jobs to go at Leamington Covid 'mega lab'

The Rosalind Franklin laboratory processed hundreds of thousands of samples each day at the height of the pandemic

More than 600 jobs are set to go at the first Covid-19 testing "mega lab" to be set up in the UK.

The Rosalind Franklin Laboratory opened in June 2021 in Leamington Spa and was the largest of its kind in the country.

Up to 8.5 million tests were processed there, but now it is being scaled down, the UK Health and Security Agency said. Staff were informed on Tuesday.

Officials hope the site could be used by the pharmaceutical industry.

Councillor Andrew Day, Conservative leader of Warwick District Council, said: "We were told it was going to be here to deal with the medical testing.

"In a funny kind of way I am actually pleased that we don't need to be doing so much Covid testing."

However, he called for the site to be used to "create yet more jobs and more opportunities in the bio-medical sciences area".

Staff were informed of the cuts on Tuesday

The facility was transformed from a disused warehouse in 2021 and converted under emergency Covid legislation. The scheme has only recently received retrospective planning permission.

Staff were upset at hearing the news, with one member of staff saying they were proud to have helped during the pandemic, but feel money and a workforce is now being being wasted.

The local authority says it is working to help staff find new jobs.

Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington Spa Matt Western told BBC News he wanted answers about the running of the lab, amid reports the project had cost more than £1bn.

"At the time it was not clear whether this way going to be an NHS facility or a private facility," he said.

"Questions need to be asked about where those agency workers came from, who made money from that.

"They kept them as agency workers, because clearly, it was very convenient for them to be so because given they're now facing four weeks' notice they can be disposed of and that's desperately tragic."