Quarantine plan under review as MPS revolt
Tourism industry leaders join clamour for rethink as proposal goes before Parliament
MINISTERS are working on plans to replace quarantine for arrivals to the UK with Boris Johnson now “personally in favour” of introducing air bridges, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
Quarantine regulations will be brought before Parliament today and introduced next Monday, but there are signs the troubled policy could be phased out just weeks later.
The “unworkable” plan could be largely superseded by so-called air bridges by the end of June, with officials working behind the scenes to strike deals with foreign countries to make them exempt.
The quarantine policy had been championed by Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s chief adviser, but there are growing signs he is losing a battle within government, and even within Downing Street, over its future.
A senior government source told The Telegraph that Mr Johnson was now “personally in favour” of the air bridges.
The Telegraph understands that the Department for Transport and the Home Office have been told to come up with plans to allow the introduction of air bridges by the end of the month.
Quarantine regulations will be laid in Parliament today and it remains possible that MPS could force a vote.
Under the rules all UK arrivals will be asked to stay at home for 14 days to stop the spread of the coronavirus and could be fined £1,000 if they fail to stick to the rules. However, the plan has caused a growing revolt among Tory MPS, while more than 200 tourist and aviation business chiefs have warned in a letter that quarantine is “unworkable” and will devastate the £200billion industry.
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, said yesterday the policy would be “regularly” reviewed on a “three-week basis” as the Government sought to head off any possible backbench rebellion.
Officials are looking to negotiate the travel corridors with low-risk countries such as Greece, Portugal and Australia to enable all passengers, including returning Britons, to sidestep the quarantine.
Mr Johnson has confirmed that a downscaling of the quarantine policy is “possible” by its review date of June 29 and one Whitehall source said: “There is definitely an intention to get [air bridge] agreements in place ready to announce at the next review.”
Adopting air bridges would amount to a climbdown by Downing Street, which distanced itself from the idea when it was floated by Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, last month.
A Home Office source said: “We haven’t put dates on it because that would be arbitrary.”
The Foreign Office said the air bridge policy was still being worked on by officials. “We are not setting a date that builds up false hope,” said a source.
Industry leaders are seeking decisions on air bridges by the end of June with British Airways confirming yesterday it will review plans to restore 50 per cent of flights in July if quarantine continues.
Tim Aldersdale, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: “June 29 is the ambition but if they can do it quicker than this, all the better. That will start to minimise the economic damage.”
The Government also has to convince countries that Britain has got its infection and R rate under control for any “air bridges” to go ahead.
POLITICIANS last night rounded on Jacob Rees-mogg, the Leader of the House of Commons, for insisting MPS must “physically” return to Parliament today, saying: “Not all of us have live-in nannies.”
MPS say the plan to make them vote in person during the crisis discriminates against parents and those with pre-existing health conditions.
There are also fears that by obeying social-distancing rules, the queue to vote could be excessively long.
Mr Rees-mogg tabled a motion yesterday that set out the requirement that MPS vote in person. The move is intended to send a signal to the rest of the country to follow MPS’ example and return to work. MPS are due to debate and vote on the plan today following the Whitsun half-term recess. The Procedure Committee last night tabled a number of amendments to the motion, calling on MPS to be allowed to continue contributing digitally if the pandemic prevents them from attending the Chamber.
Last night, one member of the committee rounded on Mr Rees-mogg, a multi-millionaire whose own nanny Veronica Crook helps to care for his six children, saying: “It’s all right for Jacob but a lot of us haven’t got live-in nannies. Most of us are living in the real world.”
Secret trials last month revealed that ditching the traditional Aye and No lobbies and having MPS queue to vote at the Dispatch Box in front of either the Government or Opposition benches could take up to three hours.
One MP likened the new voting system to like “lining up for a rollercoaster at Alton Towers”.
MPS said the plans didn’t take into account colleagues whose children were schooled in their constituencies – or those with children not in the reception, Year 1 and Year 6 groups, which returned to the classroom yesterday.
“The Leader of the House has said that all MPS’ children are classed as key workers and therefore should all be back in school – but it doesn’t work like that. Some children are schooled in London, others are schooled in constituencies. Even if children are back in school – how are MPS supposed to drop them off and collect them if their partners are also back at work?”
Traditionally, MPS have relied on grandparents, but this is no longer an option for anyone.
The Electoral Reform Society has described the scheme as “beyond a farce” amid concerns they will discriminate against shielding politicians. A spokesman said: “If this goes ahead, it is unacceptable when there is currently a safe, secure and speedy option for voting available: remote/digital voting. MPS have already used it, and it works. Since some MPS are shielding and are not safe to travel in person, these plans – if confirmed – pose a real threat for democratic representation and political equality.”
Another MP said the new rules could compromise MPS with pre-existing health problems that they had not disclosed to constituents.
“These MPS will suddenly find themselves exposed by the fact that they cannot go into the chamber.”
Dame Margaret Hodge, the 75-yearold Labour MP, said she was “furious” that she was being “denied the right to vote” today because she is deemed vulnerable, saying the move “will completely distort votes”.
If the motion is passed, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, will decide the mechanics of voting. He has described a single file of MPS as a “supermarket queue” leading through the chamber to the Dispatch Box.
‘It’s all right for Jacob, but a lot of us haven’t got live-in nannies. Most of us live in the real world’