Nicola Sturgeon was facing fury today after her Government demanded English authorities quarantine travellers flying into England if they were destined for Scotland.
The First Minister was accused of trying to extend Scottish laws south of the border with the demand that would force England to lock people up in hotels for 10 days even if local rules said they did not need to.
Under plans unveiled by Health Secretary Matt Hancock last night, only arrivals from 33 Red List nations would be required to stay locked in a hotel for 10 days in England.
Scotland however, is forcing all international arrivals into its airports to undergo the stay at a cost of £1,750. Scots Transport Secretary Michael Matheson last night confirmed the SNP government in Edinburgh wants Boris Johnson to adhere to Scotland’s policy for travellers heading north of the border via England.
Tory MP Peter Bone said Ms Sturgeon needed to clarify what her government was demanding.
‘If someone arrives in England and then travels to Scotland they have to abide by the Scottish laws but it is wrong for the First Minister of Scotland to try and impose her laws on English airports,’ he told MailOnline.
‘That’s ridiculous and bears no logic. If that is what she means I think the UK Government should firmly reject that idea.
‘She should clarify … and make it clear that quarantine rules will apply once someone goes into Scotland.’
Passengers arriving at UK airports have to fill out a ‘passenger locator form’ in the 48 hours before arriving in Great Britain.
Details required include ‘your travel details, including times and dates … and the address where you will stay in the UK.’
This would theoretically allow authorities to identify travellers going on to Scotland.
Scots Transport Secretary Michael Matheson last night confirmed the SNP government in Edinburgh wants Boris Johnson to adhere to Scotland’s policy for travellers heading north of the border
Under plans unveiled by Health Secretary Matt Hancock last night, only arrivals from 33 Red List nations would be required to stay locked in a hotel for 10 days
Such a move by the PM would effectively partially impose the Scottish policy on England, and it is not clear how it would be enforceable at ports and airports
Addressing the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood yesterday, Mr Matheson said: ‘Passengers entering England from the red-list countries who then seek to travel onto Scotland will have to isolate in a hotel in England. Last week, that was 130 people.
‘We continue to press the UK Government to adopt what we believe is a more comprehensive approach, and require all arrivals to go into a quarantine hotel.
‘We ask the UK Government to work with us to identify international travellers not caught by this approach so that arrangements can be made for them to isolate in a quarantine hotel, in line with the policy in Scotland.’
Mr Matheson told MSPs the UK’s strategy on international travel was ‘no longer sufficient to provide the protection necessary’.
Given the lack of investigation globally into new strains of the virus, Mr Matheson said it was ‘very hard to say with confidence where the high-risk countries are’.
‘That is why the Scottish Government wants a comprehensive approach to managed isolation,’ he added.
Last night Mr Hancock announced people returning to England from Red List destinations would have to pay £1,750 to quarantine for 10 days in Government-designated hotels.
Those caught lying about their movements could be fined £10,000 or jailed for 10 years.
He indicated the quarantine measures might be in place until the autumn if vaccine booster jabs are needed in response to coronavirus variants.
He told MPs that 16 hotels have been contracted to provide 4,600 rooms for the quarantine programme, which begins on Monday.
The Scottish Government said that it would go further and require all international travellers arriving into Scotland to stay in a quarantine hotel.
No international flights are currently operating to Wales or Northern Ireland.
Mr Matheson told MSPs that six hotels have been block-booked in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with up to 1,300 rooms available.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Times Radio this morning that insisting on the same quarantine rules as Scotland would cut off crucial supply routes for vaccines and other essential goods.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Times Radio this morning that insisting on the same quarantine rules as Scotland would cut off crucial supply routes for vaccines and other essential goods.
‘Scotland is in a slightly different position. A lot of their supply chain comes through England. For example the short straits, that’s Dover to Calais, brings into the UK as a whole 75 percent of our medicines, 40 percent of our food, much of which will go to Scotland,’ he said.
‘If we were to do what Scotland have done we would actually be closing off their supply routes for critical goods. And a certain number of people need to move around to make sure critical infrastructure is kept going.
‘The technical stuff that keeps the water supply and keeps electrics running. Sometimes people need to come and go… We wouldn’t have the vaccines, we wouldn’t have medicine for all sorts of purposes, we wouldn’t have food on the shelves…
‘Some people say why don’t you just close the borders, or even quarantine everybody. That wouldn’t work, we wouldn’t be able to function as a country.There would be massive social costs and economic costs. That’s not practical.’
A Welsh Government spokesman said Wales will be adopting the new border measures announced for England.
The spokesperson said: ‘This will include all people returning to Wales from 15 February being required to book and pay for tests before they travel. This will be done through the UK portal, whether a person has been in a Red List country or not.
‘People returning to Wales from Red List countries are doing so through other ports in the UK, primarily via England. From 15 February, all arrivals in England will be required to isolate in designated hotels.
‘This includes anyone planning to travel on to Wales, and they will need to enter a designated hotel for quarantine in England. This will need to be booked before travel.’