"On Wednesday Mr Shoukat, 39, was questioned about a video published by The Sun newspaper which showed employees leaving a box of allegedly untested samples in a quarantine room where a cement mixer had also been left. Mr Shoukat disagreed with a suggestion from prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford that such a move was "unhygienic", telling jurors: "It was waste and the room was being refurbished. The sample itself was sealed." "I can assure you that samples weren't being dumped," he added."
"Mr Shoukat said staff using scissors and craft knives to open test kits was "how we would typically open up a sample" and commonplace among other laboratories. The trial previously heard how RT Diagnostics made 6.674m in just 31 days between 16 May and 16 June 2021. "As the procedure became busier we developed, our dealings had to change," said Mr Shoukat. "It's been framed that a bunch of young men sat around with craft knives. You have a sample opening room with employees wearing PPE opening samples.""
""never said we were absolutely bob-on""
Faisal Shoukat and four others face trial at Bradford Crown Court accused of running RT Diagnostics as a fraudulent COVID-19 testing operation. Prosecutors allege the company purported to be a testing laboratory while tests were dumped and customers were sent fake negative results, endangering public health. The defendants also face money laundering allegations. A video allegedly showed untested samples left in a quarantine room; the company reportedly earned 6.674m in 31 days. Defendants deny the charges and maintain samples were sealed, opened with routine tools, and handled with PPE during busy operations.
Read at www.bbc.com
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