Labour set to force parliamentary vote on Covid border security measures

Labour has announced that it will force a parliamentary vote on Monday that will draw attention to calls for action on “securing our borders” during the coronavirus crisis to protect the UK against new variants of the virus.

The opposition day motion being put forward by Labour in the House of Commons will see the party reiterate its support for the introduction of a “comprehensive hotel quarantine plan” that would cover all travellers entering the UK.

Amid fears of Covid-19 mutations, the government scrapped the ‘travel corridors’ policy earlier this month, under which passengers from some countries were not asked to quarantine for ten days following their arrival to the UK.

International arrivals now must have a completed passenger locator form, provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure and self-isolate. But there are exemptions for some workers.

Travellers from low-risk countries can leave self-isolation sooner in England if they pay for another Covid test five days after their return and it is negative. There is also a list of countries from which travellers cannot travel to the UK.

Under the government’s new plan for border measures, travellers allowed to come from high-risk countries – British or Irish nationals, or people with residency rights – will be required to quarantine for ten days in specific accommodation.

It is expected that such travellers will have to pay for the period of quarantine at an estimated cost of around £1,500 per person. The new hotel quarantine system is thought to be up and running in several weeks’ time.

Labour has criticised the plans for limiting the managed self-isolation system to only certain banned countries, rather than applying it to all travellers arriving in the UK. The oppositions favours a “comprehensive” approach.

Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “Limiting restrictions to just a handful of countries puts at risk the gains being made by the vaccine, by exposing us to potentially resistant Covid-19 strains, undermining the huge sacrifices of the British people.”

Describing the proposals as “too little too late” and with “gaping holes”, the Shadow Home Secretary added: “The plans have no clear basis in science and fail to recognise that we do not know where the next strains of the virus will emerge from, until it is too late.

“The fact that Britain has already imported strains of the virus identified in South Africa and Brazil shows that the quarantine systems in place are woefully inadequate, little wonder when just three in 100 people who are supposed to be quarantining are successfully contacted.”

Labour’s motion will call on the government to publish to parliament the scientific evidence on which it has based its quarantine regime and for a sector support package for aviation focused on employment and environmental improvements.

The opposition party has made it clear that certain exemptions would be needed in its comprehensive hotel quarantine system – such as for hauliers, which would ensure that vital supplies can reach the country.

While it has been estimated that around 15,000 travellers are currently arriving in the UK every day, Border Force director general Paul Lincoln said on January 21st that around 21,000 people had arrived on Monday that week.

Thomas-Symonds told the Commons earlier this week that when the quarantine requirements were introduced in June, “the policy was so badly handled it was ineffective” and it still “isn’t being properly enforced”.