The number of people who have died from coronavirus in England may have been overstated by up to 4,000, says the BBC's health editor Hugh Pym.
It emerged that Public Health England (PHE) have been including anyone who has ever tested positive for the virus and subsequently died - even if from a completely different - in its daily reported Covid-19 death figures.
Pym said: "It looks as if the English death figures have been overstated by a few thousand – between 2,000 and 4,000."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has launched an urgent review.
Meanwhile Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland include those who tested positive for coronavirus and died within 28 days of the test in its figures.
It emerged that Public Health England (PHE) have been including anyone who has ever tested positive for the virus and subsequently died - even if from a completely different - in its daily reported Covid-19 death figures.
Pym said: "It looks as if the English death figures have been overstated by a few thousand – between 2,000 and 4,000."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has launched an urgent review.
Meanwhile Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland include those who tested positive for coronavirus and died within 28 days of the test in its figures.

