Troubled waters over air bridge proposals

NICOLA Sturgeon has been blamed by the UK Government for air bridges to holiday destinations in Europe not yet receiving the all-clear. Grant Shapps, the UK Transport Secretary, signalled to MPs that plans to announce countries which will be exempt from quarantine restrictions have been delayed by the First Minister. Sturgeon immediately condemned the claim in a post on social media, saying: “This is a misrepresentation of the position by Grant Shapps – which is disappointing but sadly not surprising.” People arriving in the UK, including people returning from holiday, are currently required to self-isolate for a fortnight to reduce the spread of coronavirus. The UK Government is expected to announce a list of countries

BY TORCUIL CRICHTON which will be exempt from the restrictions this week, but so far details have not been published.

The First Minister had criticised the UK Government for failing to consult her ahead of announcing proposed changes to the quarantine regime.

On Monday, she said she wanted to “take a bit of time to consider the public health impact” of the plan and the evidence underpinning it.

Last night, Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Justice Secretary, accused Shapps of “a complete misrepresentation” of the situation and raised the curtain on how the UK Government had handled talks with the Scottish Government.

Yousaf tweeted: “Despite asking for a call with the UK Government all of last week on this issue, we were told on Friday night (while dealing with aftermath of multiple stabbing incident) the details would be in Saturday’s press.”