Gavin Newlands MP has said the UK government must introduce urgent health measures for people travelling to the UK – including health checks and quarantine measures at the border.
The Renfrewshire MP has written to UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps raising concerns about the UK Government’s failure to act, which has meant hundreds of thousands of people have entered the UK without appropriate checks and measures in the months since the pandemic began.
The SNP Shadow Transport Secretary said the Government must finally bring the UK into line with other countries, where tighter measures are being placed on travel in response to coronavirus.
Fellow SNP MP Joanna Cherry, Shadow Home Secretary, followed suit in writing to the Home Secretary asking for similar action to stop coronavirus at the border and halt the virus in its tracks.
Gavin said:
“The UK government must urgently introduce coronavirus health checks and quarantine measures at the border for people travelling to the UK.
“It is deeply concerning that UK Government has failed to act – and is still allowing thousands of people to enter the UK without appropriate checks and measures in place.
“Other countries in Europe and across the world have already introduced these measures – leaving the UK as an outlier. The UK government has been far too slow to act and must now step up to prevent an increased risk of transmission.
“It’s crazy that people can travel from coronavirus hotspots like Italy and Spain into Scotland and UK with no checks, no quarantine, and no action from the border or transport authorities.
“It’s also putting the staff who remain working at airports at greater risk of contracting the virus and hindering efforts to stop the spread of this disease.
“For people to have confidence in the UK government’s approach, it is crucial they put these long-overdue measures in place and set out how this will form part of a considered exit strategy.”