Police told: DON’T punish tourists for f louting quarantine
‘Measures lack common sense’
SERIOUS cracks appeared in the quarantine measures on their first day of operation yesterday.
All arrivals to the UK – including Britons – must now fill in an online ‘contact locator’ form setting out where they will live for a fortnight.
Breach of quarantine risks a fine of £480 in Scotland and £1,000 elsewhere.
But last night it emerged police will take ‘no immediate action’ even if a passenger has been found to have given a false address.
One border source said: ‘It’s been a complete farce. The vast majority of passengers have not filled in forms in advance. Those who have filled it in are given an online reference number, but immigration officers can’t log in to check whether that form has been filled in properly.’
The source added: ‘It’s been impossible to socially distance in the Heathrow arrivals halls because so many people have been milling around.
‘There’s been trouble at Heathrow and at Calais and Coquelles, where the UK border checks take place for the Channel Tunnel. It’s a mess.’
The scheme was further undermined last night as the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) issued guidance for England and Wales which revealed the light touch forces will adopt during quarantine.
Even if a false address appears to have been given, police should take ‘no immediate further action’, the guidelines say, and the case simply referred to the UK Border Force.
If police visit an address where someone is supposed to be selfisolating and there is no answer, the NPCC says further visits are ‘suggested’ but there should again be ‘no immediate further action by police’. That case should be referred to Public Health England (PHE).
And if police discover someone at a different address to the one they gave on their form, they should only remove the person to their given address ‘as a last resort’.
An NPCC spokesman said: ‘Police have a limited role in quarantine regulations.’
In the event of a case being referred by PHE to the police for action, he added: ‘We will seek to establish the circumstances and we will continue our approach of engaging, explaining, encouraging and, only as a last resort, enforcing.’
Around 50 passengers arrived from Amsterdam into Edinburgh Airport yesterday morning. Nicholas Caorpula, 50, from St Andrews, Fife, said: I feel the restrictions are at least three months too late. It’s more of a political measure.
‘In three weeks time when the review takes place it will probably be gone again.’
Buke Dehety, who lives with wife Jane in Newcastle, said: I don’t understand why we are being so strict when the infection rate is dropping.’
And businessman John Wilson, 30, from Edinburgh, said: ‘I have been away on business for six weeks so I’m quite looking forward to isolating for two weeks.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said measures were needed at the border but quarantine was a ‘blunt instrument’. ‘We have got the situation where – weeks ago – other countries put quarantine in and we didn’t,’ he told LBC Radio.
‘Now as everybody’s lifting it we’re putting it in. I would much prefer to see some sort of testing regime at the airport.’
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair have sent a pre-action letter, the first step in an application for judicial review, which argues the restrictions are disproportionate.