AN Islington law firm representing an NHS doctor who had planned to bring judicial review proceedings against the government says its client is considering his next move after the findings of a pandemic test exercise were leaked to the press.

Dr Moosa Qureshi had been set to take legal action through Clerkenwell firm Leigh Day after the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care refused to publish the findings of the 2016 trial – codenamed Cygnus – which aimed to establish whether the UK was prepared for the spread of a flu-like disease.

The report, which concluded that the country would not be able to handle the “extreme demands”, was leaked to the Guardian and published on Thursday.

It warned the care sector was unlikely to be in a position to provide the level of support needed if the NHS started moving recovering patients into care facilities.

Speaking through his solicitors, Dr Qureshi said he was disappointed by what he considers a lack of government transparency during the coronavirus crisis, and added he is now “carefully considering his next steps”.

“Many questions remain unanswered about Exercise Cygnus,” he added. “Where is the raw data which informed Cygnus, and has it been analysed independently by the scientific community? What was the response to the report from key stakeholders such as the boards of NHS England and NHS Improvement, the CMO, and the CSA?

“What precisely were the report’s findings with regard to PPE and ventilator capacity, and how were these acted on?

“Why did the government ignore clear early warning signs about care homes? How has implementation of the report’s recommendations been audited?

“Are there other similar classified reports for other public health threats? Most importantly of all, what can we learn from Exercise Cygnus to help us address the UK government’s failed management strategy and prepare us for a second wave of the pandemic?”

Leigh Day solicitor Tessa Gregory said it was “disappointing” that the government had refused to publish the report.

“Our client finds it astonishing that the government has sought to keep the lessons and recommendations of Exercise Cygnus secret when it was an exercise undertaken at taxpayers’ expense in order to protect their health against a high-risk civil emergency,” she added.

“He will be looking to ensure that the government now acts transparently and provides full disclosures of all matters in relation to Exercise Cygnus and that nothing is left hidden from healthcare professionals and the wider public.”

A spokesperson for the government said: “What we learned from previous exercises helped us to rapidly respond to this unprecedented global crisis. We have followed a science-led action plan designed at all times to save lives and support our NHS.

“Our planning helped prevent the NHS being overwhelmed and means we are now moving past the peak of the virus.”