Good morning. As my colleague Linda Geddes reports in our overnight story found six cases of the highly transformed Brazilian coronavirus variant in the UK – three in England, and three in Scotland – on reviving concerns that the border controls imposed by the UK government sorry enough. Her story is here.
Yvette Cooper, Labor chairman of the home affairs committee, on the program this morning said that ministers had been told again that the current measures in England may not be appropriate. She made the same points in a thread on Twitter last night with “I told you that” evidence.
Yvette Cooper
(@YvetteCooperMP)Cases of the Brazil variant have now reached the UK a month after I raised this issue with the MMP.
People traveled on indirect flights – an issue I also raised with PM that day.
When it is so important to defend a vaccination program, why has Govt been so slow in action? / 1 https://t.co/64TM724MOS
Yvette Cooper
(@YvetteCooperMP)Delays in the introduction of measures such as hotel quarantine have made it easier for Brazilian changes to spread across the UK.
But even now 99% of arrivals are not covered by hotel quarantine as we heard this week.
And it is interesting that up to 72 hours pre-flight tests did not capture these issues / 2 https://t.co/Aj8Lpo0U2u
Yvette Cooper
(@YvetteCooperMP)“Three Scottish residents had flown to NE Scotland from Brazil via Paris & London”
Again I have asked Ministers why not test passengers when they arrive in the UK before heading home by public transport (tube / train / plane)? Why do they refuse to do this? /3https://t.co/m2WsNWHgVC
On today ‘s program she made another point, saying that the latest development showed why it would not be possible to have a summer holiday abroad this year. When asked if she thought the government needed to ban holiday flights in the summer, she replied:
You are right, there is concern that the government is raising expectations about summer holidays that they may not be able to meet, because this will depend on the link between the spread of these new variables and what happens with the vaccine, and the schedule about things like boosters for the vaccine.
And we received advice from the committee with scientists that these boundary measures, and the strength of those boundary measures, are becoming increasingly important as domestic issues fall. As our own affairs fall, and as the economy and society open up, they argue that only then do you need stronger measures at the border, rather than reducing them.
The problem right now is the government is encouraging people to think that these summer holidays are going to be possible and that international travel is going to return.
To be fair to the government, ministers never said it would be possible to take a foreign summer vacation. Going abroad for the holidays is currently against the law, and, when asked, ministers say it is too early to say what will be allowed in the summer.
But when Boris Johnson unveiled his roadmap for easing locking restrictions in England last Monday, he announced a review of the rules for global travel that will report by April 12, and the roadmap (pdf) stated that when the review was published, “the government will decide when international travel should resume, no earlier than 17 may”. That prompted an increase in foreign holiday destinations.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The ONS publishes its latest Covid school infection survey for England.
10.30am: Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, will give a talk on the economy.
12f: Downing Street holds their daily meeting.
12.15f: Mark Drakeford, the prime minister of Wales, will oversee the coronavirus preparation.
12.15f: Jeane Freeman, the Scottish government’s health secretary, will run a coronavirus briefing.
4f: Former PM PM David Cameron will give evidence to the joint committee on national security strategy.
5f: Can hold 10 press conferences.
Politics Live is now doubling as the UK’s live coronavirus blog and, with the way Covid’s crisis is shutting it all down, this will continue into the future. But we also deal with non-Covid political stories, and when they seem more important or interesting, they take precedence.
This is our global coronavirus live blog.
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