Home Secretary Priti Patel has said going on holiday is not a valid reason to not adhere to lockdown rules.
She told the Commons: “For those travelling out of the UK we will also be enhancing and stepping up enforcement rules.
“Because despite the stay-at-home regulations we are still seeing people not complying with these rules. The rules are clear, people should be staying at home unless they have a valid reason to leave.
“Going on holiday is not a valid reason, so we will introduce a new requirement so that people wishing to travel must first make a declaration as to why they need to travel.
“This reason for travel will be checked by carriers prior to departure and this approach effectively mirrors the checks on arrivals that are already in place with the passenger locator form.”
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds accused the Government of “lurching from one crisis to another”.
He told the Commons: “We must learn from past mistakes and crucially act now, and one of the key areas where the Government has fallen short is on protecting our borders.
“And I’m deeply concerned that the measures outlined today are yet another example of this – too little, too late. Yet again, the Government is lurching from one crisis to another devoid of strategy.
“And limiting hotel quarantining to only a limited number of countries from which travel from non-UK residents was already banned means that the Home Secretary’s proposals do not go anywhere near far enough.
“And perhaps that’s why it appears there has been briefings to newspapers that the home Secretary is personally not in support of the policy she’s now advocating to the public?”
