The Office for National Statistics weekly infection survey found up to one in 16 people in the worst-hit parts of the UK were carrying the virus in the week ending June 29 as cases rose by about a fifth.
Professor Graham Medley (pictured), chair of the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Modelling (Spi-M), which has advised the Government, answered tough questions from MPs.
The World Heart Federation last week published a pamphlet on the dangers of drinking, but has been accused of misrepresenting a 2018 study published by The Lancet.