Priti Patel blasts influencers ‘showing off in sunny parts of the world’

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Priti Patel today launched a scathing attack on influencers ‘showing off in sunny parts of the world’ as she revealed travellers would be stopped from leaving the UK if their journey is not essential.  

The Home Secretary slammed reality TV stars for bragging about their holidays and people ‘turning up with their skis at St Pancras Station’, adding, ‘Going on holiday is not an exemption.’ 

Scores of reality TV stars ‘used loop holes’ to flee to Dubai to lounge in luxury hotels, pose for pictures with cocktails on sun loungers and enjoy beach parties.

They all claim they flew more than 3,000 miles for ‘unavoidable work trips’ – with some even going so far as to suggest that their social media posts should make them ‘essential workers’.  

But now expats working in Dubai have accused them of ‘taking the f***ing p***’ by claiming they are in the city for work, and risking spreading the virus to residents by partying and flouting social distancing.   

And government sources told MailOnline people have been ‘exploiting grey areas’, with ‘high profile people getting away with it,’ adding, ‘what they are claiming as work is not.’ 

As the criticism surrounding influencers intensified today, the Prime Minister warned that Brits leaving the UK will be quizzed at the border to make sure they are not jetting off for a holiday.

Addressing MPs today, Boris Johnson warned: ‘I want to make clear that under the stay home regulations, it is illegal to leave home to travel abroad for leisure purposes.

‘We will enforce this at ports and airports by asking people why they are leaving and instructing them to return home if they do not have a valid reason to travel.’

Molly-Mae Hague, Maura Higgins, Amber Davies, Anton Danyluk, Georgia Harrison and Kady McDermott were among those to jet off before the third national lockdown. 

Laura Anderson, who appeared on Love Island in 2018, moaned about how ‘hard it was to be an influencer’ after she was met with a backlash about her Dubai trip. 

Meanwhile the husband of Formula One heiress Tamara Ecclestone, 36, today shared a photograph of him and his family in Dubai. The couple usually reside in a £45million home in London.

Businessman Jay Rutland, who shared a sun-soaked snap on a beach in the UAE city, admitted he was ‘loving’ being away with wife Tamara and their children.

Dubai had been an ideal choice for many as visitors at the time weren’t required to quarantine upon their return to the UK.

Many stars have insisted their trips are for ‘work’ with the government asking UK residents to avoid unnecessary travel.

Expats in Dubai have told MailOnline they are furious about the number of celebrity influencers coming to the city ‘for work’. 

One expat told MailOnline: ‘They’re taking the f***ing p***’.

Lauren Morgan, who moved to the city with her husband in January 2020, said: ‘All the ‘influencers’ coming out to Dubai for ‘work’ has made me so angry, using loop holes to holiday and potentially spreading the virus. 

‘Especially as they’re all partying in ridiculous circumstances where social distancing isn’t being observed and rules are not being followed by people from the UK.’

Ministers are understood to have been increasingly concerned about social media ‘infuencers’ and other celebrities turning up in exotic destinations while the rest of the country is in lockdown.

One government source told MailOnline people appeared to have been exploiting grey areas about what counts as ‘essential’ work trips.

‘It is quite clear there are some high profile people getting away with it and what they are claiming as work is not,’ they said. 

Ms Morgan moved to the UAE with her husband in January 2020, returning to the UK once to see her family. 

She added: ‘I have booked a flight back to the UK at the end of April. 

‘With these new rules possibly coming into place, I have to choose between not going home to see my parents who are in their late 70s or going back for the three weeks and spending 10 days of those and potentially a small fortune to quarantine. 

‘All I want to do is go home to visit my family.

‘Moving here in January 2020, this was not the deal I made with my husband, I was supposed to be able to travel home to visit family as much as I wanted to. 

‘People holidaying/partying is just delaying that for a lot of people from happening and it’s infuriating.

‘Especially as they’re all partying in ridiculous circumstances where social distancing isn’t being observed and rules are not being followed by people from the UK (and I’m sure many others) who have not had to follow the same strict rules as we have in Dubai since March 2020 and is now a way of life to wear a mask and keep your distance and minimise socialising/large group gathering.’  

Love Island’s Laura Anderson was forced to delete some of the comments on her bikini snaps after receiving backlash for sharing her exploits in Dubai.

Insisting her job was ‘hard’ to do, she moaned: ‘This whole thing about everyone hating influencers, I’m just like f**k.. this is what I do for a job at the minute. I don’t want to feel c**p.’

Yesterday, she revealed she had ordered a Covid test after suffering with a blocked nose upon returning to Glasgow where she is self isolating.  

And when approached by the Guardian about his so-called work trip, a publicist for Anton Danyluk – who has been in Dubai since 10 December – asked if the Love Island star would receive a fee in return for a comment. 

Yesterday it was revealed private flights into a Dubai airport soared by 78% at the end of last year compared to 2019, as travellers, including Love Island stars, rushed to escape lockdown and spend Christmas there.

MailOnline has been inundated with emails from people in Spain, the USA, Canada, Pakistan and South America worried that they may be caught up in the new quarantine scheme and admitting they may rush home to avoid it. 

The Home Secretary today heralded a huge squeeze on ‘non-essential’ journeys as she revealed that even during lockdown individuals have been flouting the rules – including by turning up at borders carrying skis.

In a statement to MPs, she said they now face being turned away, swiping: ‘Going on holiday is not a valid reason to travel.’

Ms Patel also declared that Britons returning from around 30 ‘red list’ Covid countries will be forced to quarantine in hotels for 10 days at their own expense.

MailOnline understands that hundreds of arrivals each day are expected to be escorted directly from airports to rooms, where they will have to stay for the duration of their isolation and pay a bill estimated at £1,500 – although ministers hope the numbers will ‘fall through the floor’ as people avoid coming to the UK.

It will only affect British travellers, as foreign citizens who have been in the countries are already banned from entering altogether.

Ms Patel herself is believed to have been pushing for a much tougher regime alongside Matt Hancock and Michael Gove, but was overruled after resistance from Rishi Sunak, Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps, and warnings it would ‘kill’ the aviation industry.

The government is facing the prospect of a revolt from UK nations, with Nicola Sturgeon threatening to impose her own more brutal curbs in Scotland, and Wales saying they do not go far enough.

Labour said ministers were ‘behind the curve’ in protecting the country’s borders.

But making the case for the government in a Commons statement, Ms Patel said: ‘It is clear that there are still too many people coming in and out of our country each day.

‘And today I am announcing further action to strengthen the health measures we already have at the border, but to reduce passenger flow so that only a small number of people for whom it is absolutely essential to travel are doing so and therefore reducing the risk to our world-leading vaccine programme.’

Under the push to clamp down on travel, airlines are expected to be fined if they fail to enforce non-exemptions properly after influencers were accused of ‘taking the p***’ by jetting out to Dubai, claiming their Instagram updates constituted work.

‘Even at St Pancras people have been turning up with their skis,’ Ms Patel said.

‘We see plenty of influencers on social media showing off about which parts of the world they are in…

‘Going on holiday is not a valid reason to travel.’

The limited Australian-style quarantine scheme follows concerns about new Covid variants entering Britain – but ignores a plea from Ms Patel and Health Secretary Matt Hancock to apply the diktat to all arrivals. 

Confusingly, Boris Johnson told the House earlier that 22 countries will be on the quarantine list – but in fact the current ‘red list’ of countries from where only British nationals can come to the UK is much wider than that.

Ms Patel did not give a full roll call of the states included when she addressed MPs.

She said the government does have estimates for how many people will need to quarantine in hotels, but refused to give them. Sources said the numbers of arrivals going into the accommodation is likely to be in the hundreds to start with, but should fall quickly.

And although she suggested there is an ‘immediate’ crackdown the start date for the enforced quarantine is not clear.

At PMQs this afternoon, Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Government had ‘failed’ by being ‘too slow’ to bring it in and claiming that quarantining arrivals from 22 countries ‘doesn’t go far enough’. 

Holiday quarantine hotel list revealed: South Africa, Brazil and Portugal will be amongst first to face 10-day £1,500 isolation as Boris Johnson unveils list of ‘high risk’ nations but Labour already say it isn’t enough 

Boris Johnson will today publish a list of up to 30 ‘high risk’ Covid countries where returning travellers will be forced to quarantine in hotels for 10 days – but Labour have said it is not tough enough.

The Prime Minister last night met with officials to put the finishing touches to the Australian-style scheme, which is being introduced following concerns about new Covid variants entering Britain – but ignored a plea from Home Secretary Priti Patel and Health Secretary Matt Hancock to apply the diktat to all arrivals.

Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons today that the Government had ‘failed’ by being ‘too slow’ to bring it in and claiming that quarantining people from 30 countries ‘doesn’t go far enough’.

Passengers arriving in Britain from any of the listed countries will have to isolate for 10 days in hotels near airports and pay around £1,500 for the privilege. 

Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency, claims that all travellers will also be asked  by airlines and border officials if their journey is essential. 

Airlines will be fined if they fail to enforce non-exemptions properly, he said.  

The 30 ‘high risk’ countries, due to be published later today along with a start date, are expected to include Brazil, South Africa, Portugal, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, much of South America and southern Africa.    

These areas have been chosen because of dangerous variants that have emerged there – or because they have rocketing infection and death rates. 

The government is also considering dumping its ‘test and release’ scheme, which allows travellers to leave quarantine if they have a negative Covid test on the fifth day in isolation. This would ensure anyone arriving in Britain would have to self-isolate for ten days. 

Priti Patel, who was calling for a blanket hotel quarantine policy for all travellers, will set out the details in the Commons after the Prime Minister gives a statement on Covid at 1.15pm today.

But Government sources have told MailOnline that the United Arab Emirates, where many social media stars have jetted off during lockdown, is looking less likely to appear on the list.  

Scores of influencers and millionaires have fled to Dubai to lounge in luxury hotels during lockdown. Laura Anderson, Molly-Mae Hague, Maura Higgins, Amber Davies, Georgia Harrison and Kady McDermott were among those to jet off before the third national lockdown. 

Expats working in Dubai and following the rules have accused them of ‘taking the f***ing p***’ by claiming they are in the city for work, and risking spreading the virus by partying and flouting social distancing. MailOnline has also been inundated with emails from people in Spain, the USA, Canada, Pakistan and South America worried that they may be caught up in the new quarantine scheme and admitting they may rush home to avoid it.

Yesterday it was revealed private flights into a Dubai airport soared by 78% at the end of last year compared to 2019, as travellers, including Love Island stars, rushed to escape lockdown and spend Christmas there.

The imminent quarantine plans split the cabinet with Home Secretary Priti Patel backing a total travel ban that would close Britain’s borders.  Ms Patel, thought to be supported by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, had hoped blanket quarantine for all arrivals would stop new variants of coronavirus entering Britain. 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have been arguing strongly for any decision on whether to widen the list to be delayed. 

The impending quarantine rules came as: 

• Boris Johnson said he was ‘deeply sorry for every life lost’ last night as the UK went past 100,000 coronavirus deaths as the PM insisted the Government ‘did all we could’;
• England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty believes the country has reached the peak of the latest – and most serious – wave of the pandemic;
• People infected with Kent coronavirus variant are MORE likely to get symptoms than those who catch older strains, ONS report reveals – but they are less likely to lose smell and taste; 
• Cases are falling fast – down from 68,000 cases recorded on January 7 to just over 20,000 yesterday. The figure is the lowest it has been since December. But another 1,631 deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test yesterday, taking the total to 100,162;

On Tuesday the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Covid operations committee – which includes participants from the Home Office, the Department of Transport and the Foreign Office – to put the seal on the decision. 

Dubai had been an ideal choice for many as visitors at the time weren’t required to quarantine upon their return to the UK.

Many stars have insisted their trips are for ‘work’ with the government asking UK residents to avoid unnecessary travel. 

An agent, whose client had travelled to Dubai, told the Mirror earlier this month: ‘We manage their social media accounts and I’ve seen a number of death threats in direct messages.

‘It’s been relentless. We warned them not to travel abroad while a lot of the nation is under severe restrictions as it’s a terrible look, but they ignored it.’

Travel chiefs warned quarantine hotels could ‘decimate’ the beleaguered sector.

Airline bosses wrote to Mr Johnson warning firms could go bust and tens of thousands of jobs lost if summer holidays are cancelled for a second year.

The letter was signed by easyJet chief Johan Lundgren, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss, British Airways boss Sean Doyle, Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy and David Burling, CEO of markets and airlines for package holiday giant Tui.

They called for an ‘urgent roadmap for the reopening of air travel’ as vaccines are rolled out and life begins returning to normal.

They said Britain already has ‘some of the toughest border restrictions on international arrivals anywhere in the world’.

And they hit out at ministers for failing to share any ‘compelling scientific evidence that introducing a policy potentially of blanket quarantine in hotels is necessary in addition to measures only recently introduced’.

The letter follows a string of announcements on restrictions at borders, including passengers needing proof of a pre-flight negative Covid-19 test and the scrapping of the ‘travel corridor’ safe list of countries.

There is also a complete ban on travel into the UK from 30 countries, including the whole of South America and southern Africa.

The ban does not include British and Irish nationals, longer-term visa holders and permanent residents, who are required to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival.

The airline chiefs pointed out that the aviation industry supports about 1.56million jobs and contributes £88.8billion to the economy, or about 4.5 per cent of UK GDP.

They added: ‘With each day the UK is isolated from the world, causing untold economic damage, both to the UK’s essential aviation infrastructure – its airlines, airports and ground handlers – but also to those businesses that depend on the UK’s connectivity within a global economy.’

The industry is calling for a ‘bespoke support package’, saying measures up until now have been inadequate. They say business rates relief can currently amount to as little as 4 per cent for larger operators such as Heathrow.

Separately, the World Travel and Tourism Council warned shutting down UK borders further could wipe out more than £548million from the UK economy every day. The travel industry is ending its worst January on record in terms of forward bookings.

It comes as a government source told MailOnline the decisions on the quarnantine plan will ‘go down to the wire’, adding: ‘The meeting will be where the decision is taken. It’s not just rubber stamping.’ 

They also cautioned that some of those coming in might not be able to pay for their own hotel stay, and there might need to be means-tested support. 

‘There’s a problem with Brits with not a lot of money … you can see it coming like a slow motion steamroller.’ 

It came as Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it was ‘too early’ to book a summer holiday abroad – but some anxious Britons took to social media to admit the warning came too late, with some having bought flights for as early as the half-term holidays in mid-February. 

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel company The PC Agency, said: ‘This is destroying confidence among holidaymakers. People are not booking summer holidays because they don’t believe there is an end game which will see these blanket measures removed. 

‘This is a sure-fire way of destroying Britain’s aviation and travel industries. The Government needs to signal that they will withdraw the hotel quarantine rules by the end of March and return to a system of quarantining arrivals from high-risk areas only.’ 

In a joint statement, the Airport Operators Association and Airlines UK insisted the country already has ‘some of the highest levels of restrictions in the world’ and that introducing tougher rules would be ‘catastrophic’. ABTA has urged all its travel agent members to lobby MPs in a bid to convince Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to agree a multi-billion pound cash bailout for the industry.

A small number of Britons say they are now stuck in Spain and the Canary Islands, where the usually bustling beaches and promenades were largely deserted, as experts fear Mr Johnson’s quarantine plan could bankrupt Britain’s already ailing tourism industry. 

And photographs from some of Europe’s most popular resorts, including Benidorm, show its beaches are deserted with bar and restaurant owners telling MailOnline they will go bust if the Brits don’t visit this year.

Stuey Lee Lewis, 70, owner of the Geordie Bar Tat in Benidorm’s Rincon area, said: ‘Things are really bad. We had locals in but we can’t survive on locals, we need the Brits. I know they’re missing our home-cooked chips, a cold beer and our sun terrace’. Expat Terence Burgess, 74, told MailOnline: ‘I was in Benidorm last week and there wasn’t a soul about. It was very sad to see. I went to my favourite karaoke bar to sing and I was the only one in there’.

The quarantine measures will lead to a slew of cancellations and people will not book summer breaks in yet another economic hammer blow to holiday firms and airlines, particularly if, as feared, the travel restrictions stretch into the peak season. Industry leaders have called for a better sector-specific bailout package from the Chancellor.  

But the Prime Minister last night said he wanted ‘maximum possible protection against reinfection from abroad’ to prevent new coronavirus variants jeopardising the vaccination programme. At a meeting of the Covid-O committee at 6pm this evening, Cabinet ministers will consider making it compulsory for all travellers to quarantine at hotels, regardless of their nationality and where they come from. A formal announcement on the agreed scheme may not come until tomorrow. 

One government source told MailOnline the decisions on the detail will ‘go down to the wire’. The meeting will be where the decision is taken. It’s not just rubber stamping.’

They also cautioned that some of those coming in might not be able to pay for their own hotel stay, and there might need to be means-tested support. ‘There’s a problem with Brits with not a lot of money… You can see it coming like a slow motion steamroller,’ the source said.  

Passengers arriving into Heathrow Airport have faced chaos for days as they were forced to queue for hours to get through passport control. Pictures of crowds at passport control have become common, raising fears that the lack of social distancing could easily spread Covid. 

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi warned that the country needs to be ‘very careful’ as new strains emerge, and said an announcement on the quarantine plans would be made later.

He told Sky News on Tuesday: ‘There will be an announcement on this issue later on today, so I can only say to you that it is the right thing to do, because I am the Vaccines Minister, that as we vaccinate more of the adult population, if there are new variants like the South African or the Brazilian variants, we need to be very careful.

‘We acted on those very quickly and of course dealt with travel from those countries, and from Portugal and elsewhere, rapidly so it is important we continue to review our border policy and an announcement will be made when a decision has been taken.

‘And of course the industry itself will be engaged with heavily, including (Health Secretary) Matt Hancock engaging with the industry to explain the decision making at health, as well as of course the business department with the Business Secretary.’

Conservative former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the proposals might need to go further than applying only to those arriving from countries where new variants of Covid-19 have been discovered.

Pressed on whether he supports a universal approach to quarantining international arrivals, Mr Hunt told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think it is a big logistical exercise to do that and it is not going to be possible to do it overnight anyway.

‘But I think the real question is buying us enough time, and we don’t know which countries these variants are arising in. We have much better genomic sequencing in this country than in most other countries – in fact, any other country – so we are better at tracing these things than other places.

‘But I think we just have to be very cautious, because if we can get this vaccine distribution up to sufficient levels, we can really cut down the transmission in this country and transform the battle against the virus.

‘If we do have to go further, I hope it would only have to be for a temporary period.’ 

The Government has reportedly held talks with Marriott and Holiday Inn about using their hotels while Rob Paterson, chief executive of Best Western hotels group, said the hotel industry was ready to assist if the Government did opt for a policy of quarantining international arrivals.

Describing what life will be like for guests paying around £100-a-night: ‘We deliver three meals per day to the door which the occupant comes out and collects those meals and then cleaning is clean sheets and towels waiting outside the room for the person to safely dispose of their previous sheets and change their own to keep the safety and infection protocols high’.

He added: ‘There are thousands of rooms across the United Kingdom at the moment with many empty beds – we would be prepared to support Government on that front’.

The quarantine scheme is already used around the world including in Australia, Singapore and Norway, where some guests have described being stuck in dirty rooms for almost a fortnight being fed disgusting food. 

Others who have been through the process abroad have suggested that guests must fill their suitcases with a ‘survival kit’ of healthy snacks, decent coffee and tea, their own crockery and cutlery as well as washing up liquid, detergent for clothes and a laptop packed with downloaded boxsets – or face pure misery.

Arrivals will be taken by bus to the accommodation where they stay at their own expense for ten days under the supervision of security guards.

Government sources last night said the enforced quarantine regime will be introduced for British nationals returning from high-risk countries where new strains of the virus have been detected, such as South Africa and Brazil. Foreign nationals are already barred from entering the UK from these countries.

Ministers will then look to widen the compulsory hotel quarantine requirement to cover more travellers.

Officials warned it will be ‘logistically challenging’ to put the system in place and it could take as long as three weeks to get it up and running. Concerns have been raised that there are only 10,000 hotel rooms close to London’s Heathrow airport.

About 8,000 people are still arriving there every day, although this number would be expected to plummet once the new restrictions are introduced.

The plan to require arrivals to go into isolation at airport hotels is modelled on Australia, where the cost of 14 days in quarantine is £1,692.

It is estimated that travellers entering the UK could be charged about £1,500 for a ten-night stay. The travel industry has warned that the added cost would destroy holiday plans.

Rob Paterson, chief executive of Best Western hotels group, said the hotel industry was ready to assist if the Government did opt for a policy of quarantining international arrivals.

 

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that, while he had not held conversations with ministers about the proposals, the sector was ‘familiar and accustomed to managing Covid-positive customers in our hotels’.

Mr Paterson added: ‘From the hotels’ perspective, we would have to treat each of these customers as Covid-positive, so we would have to have strong infection control and protocols around security in the hotel to ensure we can deliver safely.’

Asked whether the protocols would see guests confined to their rooms, he replied: ‘Yes, it does. And that is exactly how our protocols work today. We deliver three meals per day to the door which the occupant comes out and collects those meals and then cleaning is clean sheets and towels waiting outside the room for the person to safely dispose of their previous sheets and change their own to keep the safety and infection protocols high.

‘Hotels stand ready to support the authorities on the strategy and I guess it is the authorities’ responsibility and their burden to present the evidence and the practicalities behind the strategy.

‘But from a practical point of view at the hotels, there are thousands of rooms across the United Kingdom at the moment with many empty beds – we would be prepared to support Government on that front.’

Heathrow said a blanket requirement for travellers to quarantine in hotels would effectively be ‘the closure of our borders’ and lead to ‘huge ramifications for Britain and its aviation sector’.

A spokesman for the airport said the industry was ‘already on its knees’, adding: ‘The Chancellor must finally deliver on his promise of a comprehensive financial support package for UK aviation, made some ten months ago.

‘It is completely unacceptable that an industry worst hit has watched on as others, fortunate to experience a boom in profits and no restrictions, have been afforded unnecessary financial support as we remain ignored.’

Heathrow is calling for measures including business rates relief for airports.

The Airport Operators’ Association and Airlines UK warned an enforced quarantine regime would be ‘catastrophic’ and demanded an exit strategy. Shares in airlines fell sharply yesterday. 

In a joint statement, the industry bodies said: ‘We have fully supported the Government to do what is right in the face of this pandemic, but policy should be based on evidence and there must be a roadmap out of these restrictions as soon as it is safe.’

Ministers in Northern Ireland are expected to discuss the issue of quarantine at a Stormont Executive meeting on Tuesday.

There is no direct route into Wales for international travellers at present, but a Welsh Government spokesman said they expected to discuss the plans with the UK Government in more detail.

Direct flights to the UK from South Africa, Brazil and Portugal have already been suspended, but British residents have been permitted to return through indirect routes and then self-isolate at home.

Australia became one of the first countries to introduce mandatory hotel quarantine in March, while the practice is also observed in China, New Zealand, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan, Qatar and Thailand.