Holiday blow as France could go on red list as Boris warns we ‘can’t rule out’ tougher measures
BRITAIN’S holidays abroad got another blow this afternoon after the PM warned “we can’t rule out” tougher measures at Britain’s borders.
The PM said that on April 5 he will reveal more details of what the global travel taskforce will recommend for after lockdown is lifted.
But he warned again that “as we said its looking difficult on the continent”.
The PM told MPs: “I’m afraid we cant rule out tougher measures and we will put them in if necessary” to tackle the risk of importing coronavirus variants from France.
And he said putting France on the travel “red list” was “something that we will have to look at”, and testing hauliers coming in transporting goods may need to happen too.
The PM admitted: “If it’s necessary to bring in testing then we will do so, but I think you should understand the balance of doing that, the disruption to trade, and the risk that we are trying to address.”
In response to questioning from Labour’s Yvette Cooper he said: “We will take a decision, no matter how tough, to interrupt that trade, to interrupt those flows, if we think that it is necessary to protect public health and to stop new variants coming in.
“It may be that we have to do that very soon.”
But he warned today that “putting France on the red list” would have “consequences” for UK supplies.
The UK already has “very tough” measures in place, he admitted today.
Anyone coming back from countries which are on the “red list” has to quarantine for 10 days and stay in a quarantine hotel too.
There are huge fines for failing to quarantine or take tests, he explained.