Self isolation period: How long do you have to self isolate for? Time to be CUT

Mr Whitty also argued the rapid testing would fail to detect every infected individual it encountered.

The source said the proposal to test after eight days instead, with the option of leaving the house on the tenth, was “cooked up” as a compromise to Mr Cummings’ plan.

Government sources dismissed rumours of a row between the two men as “nonsense” and said a review into the quarantine period would be released in “due course”.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: “Self isolation is a vital tool in our fight to suppress the virus, so work is ongoing on options to increase the number of people doing so, including reviewing the self isolation time period.”