A SCOTTISH minister said it is ‘absurd’ that people from East Lancashire are being directed to the Highlands for a coronavirus test.

Cllr Maureen Bateson, who represents Ewood ward in Blackburn, tried to book a coronavirus test on Tuesday, and after several failed attempts the website offered her a slot at a testing centre in Kingussie, in the Scottish Highlands.

Kate Forbes (SNP), Member of Scottish Parliament for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, has said residents being sent nearly 300 miles raises questions about the UK testing system.

She said: “It does seem absurd that people are being sent from England to Kingussie.

“As Highlanders, we are used to travelling very far for certain services, while everybody else is used to accessing it on their doorstep. This isn’t the way, however, to put Kingussie on the map.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “NHS Test and Trace is working and our capacity is the highest it has ever been but we are seeing a significant demand for tests including from people who do not have symptoms and are not otherwise eligible.

“New booking slots and home testing kits are made available daily for those who need them and we are targeting testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak, and prioritising at-risk groups.

“Our laboratories are processing more than a million tests a week and we recently announced new facilities and technology to process results even faster.”