Despite lobby briefing confusion this afternoon, the Health Department is insistent that the new NHS Covid App will have contact tracing at the core of its operation. When it launches on Thursday, contact tracing will be on as default, although users will be able to switch it off when putting their phones in lockers or are working beside someone with a perspex screen between them. Reports that the contact tracing app would not contact trace were mistaken…

The app will tell users if they have been close to someone who has tested positive for Covid for an extended period of time, by scanning for other phones with the app installed. It will also allow users to scan in to venues with a unique QR code, report symptoms, and book a test. Assuming there are any tests left…

Guido understands the lobby became confused when the Prime Minister’s spokesman paraphrased an element of the list of capabilities of the app, mentioning self isolation in relation to tests rather than automatic bluetooth contact tracing. After five months of expensive app saga, it seems Apple-Google model has swung to the rescue…

UPDATE: A co-conspirator trialling the app confirms the DHSC side of the story, showing the app’s contact tracing settings: