All care home residents and staff with symptoms of Covid-19 are to be tested as the Government faces a backlash over its handling of the growing crisis.

The announcement came as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer added his voice to calls for ministers to publish their lockdown exit strategy, saying people need to see "light at the end of the tunnel".

In a letter to Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Sir Keir said Labour will support the Government if, as expected, it keeps the current measures in place from Thursday.

But he said: "The question for Thursday therefore is no longer about whether the lockdown should be extended, but about what the Government's position is on how and when it can be eased in due course and on what criteria that decision will be taken."

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The Government has come under intense scrutiny over what is happening in care homes after providers said official figures on deaths do not match what they are seeing on the ground.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, which represents independent social care services, said there have been thousands of cases and deaths in care homes, while HC-One, Britain's biggest care home operator, said two-thirds of its homes are affected and it has seen more than 300 deaths.

Lisa Lenton, chairwoman of the Care Provider Alliance, which represents large care provider associations, told the Financial Times that her members are hearing of "lots of cases where symptomatic patients are being put down as dying of the disease without testing, and similarly symptomatic patients who are being put down as dying of their underlying health condition".

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The Department of Health and Social Care has said there have been reports of Covid-19 in 2,099 care homes in England.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows there were 217 deaths linked to Covid-19 in care homes between January and April 3.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said he is "determined" to ensure that everyone needing a Covid-19 test should have access to one, with testing remaining a "key" part of the Government's coronavirus battle plan.

Currently, only the first five symptomatic residents in a care home setting are tested to provide confirmation of whether there is an outbreak.

But as capacity increases, as well as current residents and staff who need testing, all patients discharged from hospital to a care home will be tested following reports that this is not happening.