Boris Johnson has dismissed calls by Nicola Sturgeon to hold a four-nations Cobra meeting to discuss precautions against the new Omicron covid variant.
Downing Street has also rejected a joint call from the Welsh and Scottish First Ministers to extend the self-isolation period for international arrivals to eight days from the recently announced two-day limit.
The Scottish First Minister made her demand for a Cobra meeting with Boris Johnson at a covid press briefing on Monday morning but it was quickly disregarded by Downing Street.
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman told journalists: “We will confirm any plans for a Cobra meeting in the in the normal way. Currently, there isn’t one scheduled. We obviously speak to devolved administration counterparts very regularly and we’ll continue to coordinate our response with them.”
The official insisted that the two-day self-isolation imposed on international travellers was balanced between the need for caution and the demands of the travel industry.
He said: “We believe that the approach we’ve taken is proportionate one to the evidence that we currently have available about this variant. Introducing further isolation requirements and testing requirements would have a detrimental effect on the travel industry and indeed those who are planning to go travelling.”
“So our response needs to be balanced based on what we know currently about this variant. We’re taking a precautionary approach. We believe it is it’s responsible and proportionate.
"Obviously we will keep our measures are under review as evidence about this variance increases.”
Downing Street also rejected the Scottish FM’s suggestion for furlough payments to be re-instated at a devolved level.
“We are not planning to change our approach with regards to furlough,” the official said.
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