Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to reports that countries on the ‘red list’ could be added with a few hours’ notice, said:

“The UK government are clearly content to continue lurching from one crisis to another when it comes to border policy.

“They need – urgently – to move to a comprehensive hotel quarantine system, to protect against mutant strains of the virus and provide certainty. Continuing with this ‘red list’ approach will achieve neither.”