Former Brexit Party MEP says Britons going on holiday won’t re-import coronavirus

A former Brexit Party politician has claimed that foreign travel will not re-import coronavirus into the UK.

Speaking on BBC Question Time, Claire Fox, who used to be an MEP and is now a peer, called Britain’s travel rules “draconian” and said they were “something we should be very skeptical about”.

She said: “I think [the vaccine] has been a brilliant success.

“We should be in a position where if we go on holiday, we’re not going to reimport coronavirus.”

“That’s not the way it works,” she added despite that, indeed, being the way it works.

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Under the current lockdown rules, Brits must stay at home and only leave for essential journeys, like shopping for food or exercising. Unfortunately for Fox, there is no Magaloophole in place and foreign travel is banned - for the moment.

The earliest possible date for lifting the ban is 17 May, but concerns about rising cases in Europe and a string of new variants has quelled the government’s zeal in promising the nation they will soon be able to escape.

Indeed, from Monday, those found making a bolt for it without reasonable cause will be slapped with a £5,000 fine. And people entering the UK from certain countries are already banned from doing so while others must quarantine and test negative for the virus on return to British soil.

Last night, it was revealed that the government has been warned by Public Health England that the UK is importing Covid variants from across Western Europe and the USA.

But Fox - perhaps missing Brussels after all - rejected the idea that people who travel during a global pandemic are “selfish and indulgent” and fought bravely for people’s right to sit on a sun lounger, but viewers were not impressed:

Fox’s intervention also comes as Tory MP Charles Walker plans to protest the lockdown by walking around London with a pint of milk in his hand.

“We have got a situation where, fantastically, we are now largely as a society not at the same risk because of the vaccine situation,” Fox added.

“I’m sure a lot of people will be frightened to travel but I do think people should be able to weigh up risks.

“People do need to exert their freedom at this point. People need the opportunity to relax, and holidays are a part of it.”

Seems like Fox will have to settle with a weekend on the British coast for now.