THE NHS debt write off "win" must come with testing and PPE investment, said Lakes MP.

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has claimed a campaign victory as the government announces it will write off over £13bn of NHS debt and he has called for investment in Covid-19 testing and PPE for NHS staff.

The announcement comes after Mr Farron revealed last year through a freedom of information request that £607,404,854 worth of interest on outstanding debt was paid by NHS Trusts to the Department for Health and Social Care in the previous five years.

Locally, Morecambe Bay NHS Trust have been forced to pay more than £4m over the past three years – money which Mr Farron argues should have been used to fund more doctors and nurses. He said: "It should not have taken an international pandemic crisis for this to happen but it is very good news all the same."