Travel bosses blast Government plans for ‘amber watchlist’

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Boris Johnson today hinted that proposals to introduce an ‘amber watchlist’ could be scrapped after a furious backlash from Tory MPs and warnings from travel bosses that the industry is in the ‘last chance saloon’. 

The Prime Minister was asked this afternoon if he is personally in favour of the new category which is currently being considered by the Government and would identify countries which are amber but at risk of imminently turning red.

Mr Johnson did not categorically rule the move out but said he wanted international travel rules to be ‘as simple and as user friendly for people as possible’ as he appeared to distance himself from the policy. 

The premier said there needs to be a ‘balanced approach’ because ‘this is still a dangerous virus’ and the nation must guard against importing variants. 

But in a further sign that the PM is increasingly prepared to let the vaccine rollout do the heavy lifting in the nation’s coronavirus response he said ‘obviously the double-vaccinations that we have got really do offer the way forward’. 

His comments came after fears were expressed that the ‘amber watchlist’ could plunge the plans of 1.2million Brits into chaos and wreak further devastation on the beleaguered travel industry. 

Reports suggested that Spain could have been added to the category while fellow holiday hotspots Greece and Italy could also have followed suit. 

Moving a country from amber to red at a moment’s notice would force travellers to scramble to return home or face having to pay £1,750 for a mandatory 10 day stay in hotel quarantine.

Travel experts said there are approximately one million British tourists currently in Spain along with 150,000 in Greece and 50,000 in Italy. 

Ministers are under mounting pressure not to go ahead with the move, with Tory MPs warning it could cause a massive collapse in bookings.

Many Conservative MPs believe the red, amber and green system is now far too complicated and are demanding it be simplified. 

Digital Minister Matt Warman this morning dismissed the concerns as he said the system works fine as long as people ‘apply their common sense’. 

He did not rule out introducing the new ‘amber watchlist’ category, with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps due to provide an update on travel rules on Thursday this week. 

He said ‘the point’ of such a watchlist is to ‘try and give people a sense of the direction of travel that a country is going in’. 

Whitehall sources last night told the Mail that the plans could be scrapped as the backlash grows and after it emerged that Rishi Sunak had written to Mr Johnson to warn that the Government risked damaging the travel sector by imposing more ‘draconian’ measures than the UK’s EU rivals.

As of today fully-vaccinated arrivals to the UK who have been double jabbed in the US or the EU will no longer have to quarantine when arriving from amber list countries after a rule change. 

The Chancellor said UK border policy was ‘out of step with our international competitors’ in a way that threatened to damage jobs.

Meanwhile, aviation bosses have called for the Government to scrap the requirement for returning travellers to take a PCR test and to replace it with a cheaper and faster lateral flow test. 

In a ray of hope for millions of holidaymakers, industry experts last night released optimistic data which they say shows how 17 countries could be added to the quarantine-free green list or green watch list.

Countries including Germany, Austria, Poland and Canada, are among the countries most likely to go green due to low infection rates, according to travel experts.

It comes as it was revealed:

• That free coffee and cinema tickets could be next incentives to beat Covid vaccine hesitancy in youngsters after the Government unveiled plans to to hand out Uber rides and takeaways to encourage Britons to go get the jab;
• That all over 50s across the UK will be offered a booster shot of Pfizer by Autumn in a bid to battle back variants;
• Meanwhile, Covid cases fell for the eleventh day in a row, with infections dropping by 16 per cent in a week to 24,470 and deaths stay low at 65;
• New figures also revealed a 10-year age drop in Covid patients due to the impact of the vaccine roll-out;
• But Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg warned that enforcing Covid vaccine passports was ‘not a British way to behave’; 

Mr Johnson was asked during a visit to Airbus Defence and Space plant in Stevenage if he is personally in favour of an ‘amber watchlist’. 

He replied: ‘Obviously, people care very much about their holidays, people want to go abroad, I understand how much people plan, prepare for the summer holidays.

‘But we have also got to remember that this is still a dangerous virus and that we must try and stop variants coming in, must stop importing variants from abroad.

‘So we have to have a balanced approach. What I want to see is something that is as simple and as user friendly for people as possible but obviously the double-vaccinations that we have got really do offer the way forward.’

Told that the aviation industry had accused him of squandering the UK’s ‘vaccine dividend’ by failing to further reopen international travel, Mr Johnson said: ‘On travel, we have had to balance it because of the anxiety that I think a lot of people have, I have, about importing new variants, bringing back the disease.

‘But we also have to recognise that people want badly to go on their summer holidays. We need to get the travel industry moving again. We need to get our city centres open again. And so we want an approach that is as simple as we can possibly make it.’

Aviation and tourism chiefs are increasingly concerned that the crucial summer holiday season is slipping away as ever-changing traffic light rules continue to put off many people from heading abroad. 

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, which represents the aviation industry, said: ‘The EU must be looking at us in incredulity. 

‘We have totally squandered the vaccine dividend we had built up. 

‘No wonder passengers have no idea whether they’re coming or going. Green is the only way forward for the industry – this is the last chance saloon now for saving the summer.’

Mr Alderslade told Times Radio this morning: ‘We’ve now only got six to eight weeks until the end of the summer, and tens of thousands of jobs are under threat in the travel and aviation sector.’

Travel expert Paul Charles said it would be a ‘disaster’ if the Government introduces the new category as he called on ministers to abandon the traffic light scheme entirely, warning firms are facing a ‘crunch week’.      

The chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told MailOnline today that British tourists have already been cancelling holidays to Spain, Greece and Italy.

He said: ‘The ministerial dithering last week has already led many people to cancel because they can’t be bothered with the faff of worrying and they can’t be bothered with the threat of higher testing costs, so they are postponing.

‘And that’s why ministers have got to get a grip this week and put confidence back into booking. At the moment they’re doing their very best to delay the recovery in the travel sector and it’s threatening tens of thousands of jobs.’

Mr Charles said ‘thousands’ of people have cancelled in the past week because of discussion over the amber watchlist and warned that ‘people aren’t prepared to take the risk’.

He continued: ‘They’re not paying balances due and that’s where it’s hurting, and that’s why ministers have to make an urgent decision on saving the rest of the summer. They are doing a very good job of harming the sector.’ 

Meanwhile, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye told the BBC the Government must ‘get rid of the requirement for everyone to have a PCR test and replace it with a cheaper, simpler lateral flow test and only use the PCR test if people test positive, for genomic purposes’ to further open up travel. 

The Government is facing a growing backlash from Tory MPs over its handling of international travel, with many backbenchers of the belief that ministers are being overly-cautious given the success of the UK’s vaccination drive. 

​​Huw Merriman, the Conservative chairman of the Transport Select Committee, told The Times the plans for an ‘amber watchlist’ represented a ‘giant red flag’ which could cause a collapse in bookings.

He said: ‘The Government has used the vaccine dividend to make some positive strides in the last few weeks, making it easier for those travelling in and out of the UK.

‘This is not the time to be adding further complexity, uncertainty and anxiety to an already beleaguered sector.’

Tory MP Henry Smith, the chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation Group, said: ‘We support the traffic light system of red amber and green. However, the way it is being implemented is very confusing, complex and is in many cases detrimental to that safe reopening. It’s more of a rainbow now.’  

However, Mr Warman this morning dismissed the concerns over complexity this morning as he failed to rule out introducing the bnew category. 

Asked directly about the prospect of a new watchlist, Mr Warman told Sky News: ‘The point of the watchlist that you refer to is to try and give people a sense of the direction of travel that a country is going in.

‘It is to try and provide people with as much information as possible when they make those decisions about where they might want to go on holiday.’

Mr Warman said that people would have to make ‘common sense judgements’ about whether to travel abroad for a holiday.

Told that many people believe the traffic light system, which also includes a green watchlist and an ‘amber plus’ list, is too complicated, the minister replied: ‘I don’t accept that it’s complicated in a way that is not something that the people can apply their common sense to.’ 

Labour has demanded the Government publish detailed coronavirus data for every country so that people can see why nations are moved up and down the traffic light categories. 

Asked if an ‘amber watchlist’ should be introduced, Anneliese Dodds, the party chairwoman, told Times Radio: ‘Well, no, we don’t want to see additional confusion and chaos here. We’ve been here before, we’ve been in this chaos before, and yet Government seems to be providing just more of the same, more confusion, more extra categories.

‘What we’ve said for months as the Labour Party is that the Conservative Government need to be open and transparent, they need to be actually publishing the data that they’re taking their decisions on.’

A Whitehall source told the Mail last night that the idea for an ‘amber watchlist’ could be shelved, adding: ‘We’ll have to wait and see what the data looks like later this week.

‘But there will have to be a very strong case to create another category at this stage. There is a lot of opposition to anything that causes more confusion and uncertainty right now.’

Yesterday it emerged that Mr Sunak had written to Mr Johnson to warn the Government risked damaging the travel sector by imposing more ‘draconian’ measures than EU rivals.

He said UK border policy was ‘out of step with our international competitors’ in a way that threatened to damage jobs.

Treasury sources played down the split, insisting the Chancellor’s letter was written before last week’s decision to lift quarantine restrictions for double-jabbed tourists from the US and Europe, which comes into force today.

But senior Tories have warned against imposing measures that could wreck family holidays and damage the stricken travel sector further.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said families should be governed by the quarantine rule in place when they leave for a holiday, even if the status of their destination alters during their trip.

He told the Mail: ‘We cannot mess families around like this. If you have gone away on the basis that the country is okay and you have had your two vaccines then you should not have to self-isolate when you get back.

‘I am glad the Chancellor is getting involved because we have to start thinking about the economic damage we are causing by overly restrictive and constantly changing rules. We need to be trusting our vaccines and opening up, not constantly tinkering in a way that undermines confidence.’

Another senior Tory described an amber watch list as ‘madness’, adding: ‘It is a stupid idea which will cause bookings to collapse. Who in their right mind would go on holiday having been warned they may have to quarantine at huge expense when they get back?’

The push to create an amber watch list has been prompted by concern among health officials about the rise of the Beta variant in countries such as Spain.

The strain, which emerged in South Africa, is thought to be more resistant to the AstraZeneca jab than the Delta variant, which his now dominant in the UK.

Ministers are keen to avoid a repeat of the fiasco in which France was placed on an ‘amber plus’ list of its own last month.

Travellers from France still have to isolate for ten days on arrival in the UK, although this restriction is set to be lifted this week.

An amber watch list would not carry quarantine restrictions of its own. But travellers would be warned their destination is on the brink of going on to the red list.

If it does, they would face the choice of rushing home before the deadline or paying £1,750 a head to quarantine in a Government-approved hotel when they return.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre, which analyses Covid data, is due to give ministers its latest assessment of the international threat.

They will then meet on Thursday to decide which countries should go in each category, and whether a new amber watch list is needed.

It comes as travel consultancy, the PC Agency, last night released research which suggested that 17 countries could join the green or green watchlist.

The research suggests 12 destinations, including Germany, Poland, Canada, Austria and Romania could go fully green – meaning even unvaccinated holiday makers can return to the UK without having to quarantine on their return.

According to the PC Agency, all 12 destinations have infection rates below 30 cases per 100,000 of the population – placing them significantly lower than the UK’s 286 cases per 100,000 people – and most have also jabbed more than half of their adult populations. 

According to the research, reported in the Telegraph, a further five destinations, Bhutan, French Polynesia, North Macedonia, Norway and Saudi Arabia, have low enough infection rates to join the green watch list – which is the same as the green list but with the possibility of a sudden switch to the amber list looming.  

Meanwhile, in another boost for British families, fully vaccinated arrivals to the UK who have been double jabbed in the US or the EU will no longer have to quarantine when arriving from amber list countries after a rule change.

Non-UK residents arriving from amber list countries have previously been forced to self-isolate when arriving in the UK – even if they have been double jabbed.

But from 4am today, the rules changed to allow them to enter the country providing they have been double vaccinated in either the US or an EU country.

The rule change will be a big boost for families abroad who have faced strict restrictions when planning visits to the UK since March last year.  

The Government has said the change, which was announced last week, will help to reunite family and friends whose loved ones live abroad. Airline bosses have welcomed the move.

But travellers will still need to take either a lateral flow or PCR test pre-departure and a PCR test on the second day after they arrive. Under-18s will be exempt from isolation, and some will not have to test, depending on their age. 

However, travel to the US for Brits – even those who are fully vaccinated – remains out of bounds as the Biden administration continues to stick to a hardline border policy. 

Mr Alderslade said the UK change had prompted a 300 per cent increase in bookings from America. He said the key to kickstarting travel is to expand the green list.

He told Times Radio: ‘I think the big issue for us as an industry is the green list… amber at the moment is a red flag for travellers, it’s a glaring warning sign because of the worry that people have that they will either be stranded overseas or they will have to quarantine either in a hotel or a home for 10 days.’

It comes as it was revealed last night how tens of millions of Britons are expected to be offered a Pfizer booster jab this autumn as the vaccine has proved to be the most effective against the Delta variant.

The booster scheme, which was announced earlier this year, is set to start in September and should see 23million over-50s, vulnerable Britons and NHS and care home staff offered a third dose. 

Extra vaccines would be rolled out in two stages — prioritising those most at risk of Covid, before the programme is extended.

While patients were initially expected to be offered the jab they were originally inoculated with, it is understood all patients will be offered the Pfizer jab as it has proven to be the most effective against the Delta variant.

The Department of Health has yet to confirm the official details of the booster scheme, plans of which were first shared by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in June.

The JCVI is expected to issue its final advice in regards to the booster scheme in the coming months. 

A senior government source also told the Times that those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine would ‘be getting an mRNA booster’.

MRNA used in the Pfizer and Moderna jabs is essentially a DNA instruction to tell your cells how to produce the harmless spike proteins from the virus – allowing your body to create an immune response without being exposed to the virus itself. 

Oxford AstraZeneca is not an mRNA jab – instead using a weakened version of a common cold virus from chimpanzees that has been modified to contain genetic material shared by the coronavirus.

Again, this technique means the person receiving the jab is not exposed to the real virus – unlike previous jab types which often relied on weakened or dead forms of the actual virus.

A UK Government-backed study published earlier this year found that mixing and matching Covid vaccines may result in higher protection against the virus.

People who had been vaccinated with AstraZeneca‘s jab initially and then received a top-up with Pfizer‘s had nine times more antibodies than those who stuck to the UK vaccine.

Although antibodies are just one part of the immune response, the Oxford University researchers said the findings strongly suggested the approach could enhance immunity.

But it is understood the mix and match approach is not going to be used in the short term more broadly because there is a ‘strong supply’ of each vaccine type.

A senior HSE source told the Times: ‘Currently there’s no need for it. Currently we have plenty of vaccines. The amount of vaccine isn’t an issue at all. There’s no plan to do it. It’s not under immediate consideration, but I wouldn’t rule it out.’

The Government said analysis has shown that the Pfizer vaccine is 96 per cent effective against the Delta variant while the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is 92 per cent effective against hospitalisation after two doses.

A study published this week also showed that a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine could offer strong protection against the Delta variant.

Research showed that antibody levels increased five-fold among people ages 18 to 55 who were given the booster shot.

The third dose was especially effecting for the elderly, with antibody levels spiking 11-fold among people aged 65 to 85 who had already received the standard two doses.

In the slides published online, the researchers wrote there there is ‘estimated potential for up to 100-fold increase in Delta neutralization post-dose three compared to pre-dose three.’ 

The booster roll-out will coincide with the annual influenza inoculation programme, which health officials said will be vital this winter amid warnings of a difficult flu season.

Immunity gained from Covid jabs last for at least six months in the ‘majority’ of cases, but there are fears this could fade later in the year which could trigger a spike in hospitalisations and deaths.

An Oxford University trial looking at booster doses suggested a third shot six months after the second could restore peak immunity against Covid.

It comes as the week-on-week rate of Covid cases fell yesterday for the tenth day in a row with 26,144 infections marking a 17.8 per cent fall while deaths also fell to 71.

The latest data from Public Health England and Cambridge University suggests that about 60,000 deaths, 22 million infections and 52,600 hospitalisations have been prevented by vaccines.

The Government plans to lure young people in for their vaccinations with the promise of cut-price taxis and takeaways, as Boris Johnson tries to tackle the relatively low take-up among the under-30s.

Uber, Deliveroo and Pizza Pilgrims are among the companies in discussion with the Government about offering incentives as part of the ‘Jab 18-30’ drive.

So far, only two-thirds of people in that age bracket in England have received a first dose since they became eligible in June, compared with 88.4 per cent across all age groups, meaning more than three million 18-to-30-year-olds remain unjabbed. 

Prizes for having the jab: As No. 10 plans to hand out Uber rides and takeaways, insiders reveal free coffee and cinema tickets could be new incentives to beat Covid vaccine hesitancy in youngsters

ByJason Groves Political Editor For The Daily Mailand Eleanor Hayward For The Daily Mail

Young people could be offered a free latte or cinema ticket in return for having the Covid jab under plans being discussed by ministers.

The Government yesterday announced commercial tie-ups that will see firms like Deliveroo and Uber offer discounted takeaways and taxi rides to people who sign up for vaccination.

A Government source said that further deals were expected in the coming days with cinema chains, coffee franchises and high street restaurants potentially involved.

However ministers have ruled out offering cash bribes as seen in the United States where newly-vaccinated citizens are to be offered $100 in cash, equal to £72.

‘There is a lot of work going on into broadening this out into other areas,’ the source said.

‘We will not be offering cash payments but we hope there will be a range of attractive high street incentives that will encourage more people to come forward and have the jab.’

Boris Johnson is said to be frustrated that 30 per cent of people aged under 30 have still not come forward for their first jab, more than six weeks after vaccinations were opened up to all adults.

A Government source said vaccinations in the age group were currently running at 40-50,000 a day, but added: ‘We’d like to be doing a lot more.’ 

The move to offer incentives follows controversy over Government efforts to force young people to have the jab by introducing vaccine passports.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘I personally don’t think it would get through the House of Commons in any event and that’s why the Government has moved on to this carrot inducements for young people.’

Labour environment spokesman Luke Pollard said the party was ‘very cautious’ about domestic Covid passports with leader Sir Keir Starmer ruling out supporting them for use in ‘everyday life’ setting up the possibility of a Government defeat on the policy.

Uber, Bolt, Deliveroo and Pizza Pilgrims are among the first brands who will be offering incentives to encourage youngsters to get inoculated, Department for Health has announced.

Taxi app firm Uber will offer discounted rides and meals on its Uber Eats platform for young adults who receive a vaccine, while Deliveroo is planning to give vouchers to young people who get jabbed.

Mr Pollard, who dubbed the offer ‘kebabs for jabs’, said he doubted the concept ‘is going to be enough to get that last 30 per cent of young people’ vaccinated, and called for youngsters to be given more of a role in leading the campaign to get protected from the virus.

Ministers could also face questions about whether the plan complies with the Government’s anti-obesity strategy.

But they are determined to drive up vaccination rates among the young before the winter.

The vaccination rollout has slumped to the lowest rate since it began as demand slows to a trickle due to vaccine hesitancy in the young.

Currently first doses are averaging just 40,000 a day, compared with more than half a million a day in March.

Latest Government figures show that on Saturday there were just 38,851 first doses, compared with 212,159 second jabs. The fall in demand has forced doctors to send back unused vaccine doses to prevent them going out of date.

Dr Rosemary Leonard, an NHS GP, said on Twitter: ‘Please, please, could young people be allowed to get their vaccines earlier than eight weeks.

‘Numerous colleagues telling me of 100s of doses being thrown away, yet ‘early requesters’ at clinics being turned down.

‘I’ve heard of one clinic having to bin 1,000 doses of Pfizer because it had expired, yet turning people away for second dose.’

Some 170,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine are at risk of expiry within the next fortnight because not enough youngsters are coming forward, it is claimed.

Beccy Baird, a fellow at The King’s Fund, also said the young’s vaccine hesitancy is making it harder to know where to prioritise jabs.

So far 88 per cent of adults have had one dose and 72.5 per cent have had both doses.

In total, more than 85million doses have been administered across the UK.

Last night Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘In under eight months, health services across the UK have delivered more than 85million doses – this is a phenomenal achievement.

‘It has shown Britain at its best. From our NHS administering the jabs, to the Armed Forces, thousands of volunteers and civil servants, you have all played an important role in getting us to this life-saving milestone – and I want to thank you all for your tireless efforts.

‘Please get both of your jabs if you haven’t already to protect yourself and your loved ones.’