Covid in Scotland: Hancock 'happy to discuss' quarantine loophole

The UK health secretary has said he is happy to discuss measures that would close a loophole enabling travellers to avoid Scotland's quarantine.

All arrivals must isolate for 10 days in a quarantine hotel in Scotland, but in England this only applies to people from 33 "red list" countries.

Matt Hancock told the BBC he would discuss facilities for people travelling on to Scotland via England.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she welcomed his offer to talk.

Concerns have been raised about the risk of people spreading new Covid variants if they arrive at airports and ferry terminals in England, then travel to Scotland on public transport.

However, Mr Hancock told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that anyone travelling to quarantine at home should be doing so by car.

He said: "There are some countries with very, very little coronavirus right now so we're taking a proportionate approach.

"If they've been to one of red list countries then they need to declare that and if they don't, that's an imprisonable offence."

He added: "Residents in Scotland have to follow the Scottish government's rules on the public health measures. The system we're using is the same across the different nations. They must quarantine by law."

Mr Hancock said he was "happy to have conversations" with the Scottish government about providing quarantine facilities for people arriving in England, before onward travel to Scotland.

While the main points of the emergency travel legislation in Scotland were known last week, the details emerged at 04:00 on Monday.

Edinburgh Airport said a significant number of passengers made the decision not to board a flight from Turkey after arriving at the airport. It is understood only four passengers travelled.

Chun Wong and his eight-year-old daughter Kiernan were among the first to arrive in Scotland to stay in a quarantine hotel.

They flew from America to Edinburgh via Dublin.

Despite being a medical worker in the States and having both his vaccine doses, Mr Wang will still has to isolate under the new laws.

He said: "I will do what it takes. I am glad I am here and will do whatever it takes to stay."

Mr Wong said he had explained the process to his daughter, who will have to wait another two weeks to be reunited with her mother who is a UK resident and works in Scotland.

The family has been waiting for 16 months to be together in Scotland due to delays with immigration due to the pandemic. They were told they had to collect visas before 3 March and so had to travel.

Because they arrived on the day quarantine rules started, the family has had to pay quarantine costs on top of more than £10,000 in immigration costs.

"We talked to her about it already," he said. "If anything, it might help get our feet settled here.

"I'm just glad we have landed and can get settled. Whatever it takes to keep everybody safe, I'm all for it.

"We'll play board games - Guess Who and Uno. I might teach her poker."

Mr Wong said the American side of the quarantine process had been "pretty screwed up" but said once they reached Scotland it had been "pretty smooth".

Leading human rights lawyer John Scott QC said that both the public and Police Scotland had been put in a "very difficult position", and had not been given time to fully understand the rules.

He said: "If the detail of the regulations had been published earlier, and frankly, if the UK and Scottish governments had got their acts together in discussions there could have been far greater clarity and dissemination of what exactly is involved."

Anyone who crosses the Scottish border who has travelled from a non-red list country is "arguably breaking criminal law", Mr Scott added.

Scottish Labour described the Scottish government's handling of the situation as "farcical", while the Scottish Conservatives said the public had been "caught in a blame game" caused by the SNP.

Travellers who are required to self-isolate in hotels will have to pay the £1,750 cost of their managed quarantine.

This raised the possibility of people looking to avoid the charges by choosing English airports even if Scotland is their final destination.

Matt Hancock has previously said passengers arriving in England from "low risk" countries would be required to quarantine at home - even if their home was in Scotland - rather than face hotel quarantine at their point of entry.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday that she wanted the UK government "to work with us" so that people who are "destined for Scotland" via an English airport are required to quarantine near the point of arrival.

She added that she had raised the issue with Conservative Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove and her ministers, Jeane Freeman and Michael Matheson, had spoken about it with their counterparts at Westminster.

Ms Sturgeon said: "I heard a clip of Matt Hancock on the radio this morning saying he was willing to continue to talk to us about this - and I welcome that. Hopefully we can get some progress in the days to come."

Passengers travelling to Scottish airports must fill out a Home Office passenger locator form, take a pre-departure Covid test and show they have made quarantine arrangements prior to arriving in Scotland.

They will then be met by security, taken to baggage reclaim and then on to transport to the quarantine hotel, he said.

Edinburgh Airport has criticised the Scottish government's plans, saying they were initially "lacking in basic detail and knowledge of our operations" and subject to last-minute changes.