Number of people who have died in UK after testing positive for coronavirus hits 37,460

The death toll has increased by 412 in the last 24 hours according to the latest Department of Health figures

The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK has hit 37,460 according to the latest update from the Department of Health.

The death toll has risen by 412 from 37,048 at the same point yesterday.

The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK is now 267,240 - a rise of 2,013 from 265,227 yesterday.

Nearly 3.8 million people have now been tested for the virus with a total of 117,013 tests carried out yesterday.

The government had set a target of being able to conduct 200,000 tests a day by the end of May, which it has not yet met.

However, a spokesperson for Downing Street said it remains confident the testing capacity target will be met by Monday.

NHS England announced 183 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 26,049.

Of the 183 new deaths announced on Wednesday 24 occurred on May 26, 64 occurred on May 25 and 28 occurred on May 24.

The figures also show 55 of the new deaths took place between May 15 and May 23, nine took place in April and the remaining three occurred in March with the earliest on March 21.

Public Health Wales said a further 11 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,293.

In Scotland, a total of 2,304 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 13 from 2,291 on Tuesday, Nicola Sturgeon said.

In Northern Ireland, the number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to 516 after two more deaths were reported by the Department of Health.

Yesterday, Northern Ireland recorded no new deaths for the first time since March.

The new figures were released as Boris Johnson faces questioning by senior MPs at the Liaison Committee this afternoon.

The prime minister is facing a growing Tory revolt and plummeting poll ratings over the Dominic Cummings row.

His senior adviser drove from London to Durham to isolate with his family during the lockdown and says he subsequently took a trip to Barnard Castle to see if he was fit enough to drive before returning to the capital.