Britain is facing a diplomatic backlash from France over “excessive” quarantine restrictions after the foreign secretary said they had been imposed because of many cases of a coronavirus variant on an island nearly 6,000 miles away.
Dominic Raab said that the decision to put the country on the amber-plus list had been taken in part because of the high rate of the Beta variant in Réunion, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. Scientists are concerned that the strain, which originated in South Africa, is more resistant to vaccines than other variants.
France said it was discriminatory and “scientifically unfounded” to require all holidaymakers to quarantine on their return to Britain for ten days, regardless of whether they had been vaccinated. Brittany Ferries described the decision as “madness”.
Ministers have also been warned by officials that plans to open up Britain to fully vaccinated EU and US travellers next week without quarantine could lead to five-hour queues at airports at peak times.
The government is planning for checks on vaccine passport status to be carried out by airlines before travellers reach Britain, which it says will significantly reduce the risk of long queues.
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The decision to put France on the amber-plus list on July 16 was taken during a meeting between Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid, the health secretary. Raab and Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, were not present.
Explaining the decision yesterday, Raab told Today on BBC Radio 4: “The evidence presented on which the original decision was taken was based on the prevalence of the so-called Beta variant, in particular on the Réunion bit of France.”
When it was pointed out that Réunion was a long way from mainland France, Raab said: “It’s not the distance that matters, it’s the ease of travel between different component parts of every individual country.” In a later interview he clarified that the decision had also reflected the prevalence of the variant in northern France.
A senior government source said last night that Raab was mistaken and that case rates in Réunion had not been part of the decision. “Ministers took this decision based on data on the prevalence of the Beta variant in mainland France,” the source said. “This data did not include La Réunion.”
Clément Beaune, France’s Europe minister, said yesterday: “It is a decision that discriminates against the French because other Europeans, even countries that are in more difficult health situations because of the Delta variant or another variant, are not affected by this quarantine.”
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Raab’s comments also prompted criticism from the travel industry. “This is madness,” a spokesman for Brittany Ferries said. “It would be like France hammering British holidaymakers due to a Covid outbreak on the Falkland islands. It makes you wonder if those in the centre of power have access to an atlas or a geography GCSE between them.”
The restrictions on France are likely to be lifted on Thursday after a fall in the number of cases of the Beta variant, which accounts for 0.6 per cent of total infections, according to the Gisaid website, which is used by government.
The Times has been told that some cabinet ministers have been pushing for the decision to be moved forward to Monday but Javid has said that this is too early.
There is growing concern about Spain, where Beta cases have risen to 14 per cent of infections over the same period, Gisaid states. Ministers are understood to be reluctant to place it under similar restrictions to France, meaning travellers will not face quarantine. It is likely to be added to a new amber watchlist, warning tourists that it could be moved to red and face a travel ban. Italy and Canada could also be put on the new watchlist, and countries including Germany and Austria could be placed on green list allowing quarantine travel regardless of vaccination status.
On Wednesday ministers decided to lift restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers coming to Britain from the EU and the US. Those who can offer proof of vaccination will not have to go into quarantine when they arrive.
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Ministers were told by officials before the Covid-Operations committee’s decision to lift the restrictions that the surge in the number of people travelling could lead to queues of up to five hours at airports during peak times. They said checks should be carried out “upstream” to limit the delays caused by Border Force having to verify people’s information.
Guillermo Martínez de Tejada, professor of microbiology and parasitology at the University of Navarra in Spain, said: “Delta is far more transmissible and so that’s why we’re seeing this enormous increase in incidence.”
Within Tuesday’s rise, the Balearic islands showed the sharpest increase, followed by the central Castilla-La Mancha region, Madrid and Andalucia.
