Mayor Khan calls on Government to tighten international travel restrictions to halt spread of virus

By Joe Talora, Local Democracy Reporter

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the Government to tighten restrictions on people entering the UK to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday announced that England was to enter a seven-week national lockdown with a stay-at-home order in place, but there were no specific rules announced about people entering the UK from abroad.

The Mayor of London has urged the Government to “get a grip” with regards to international travel and implement stricter measures at the UK’s major arrival points, many of which are in or near London.

Mr Khan said: “If you compare and contrast what happens at our airports in relation to the airports in, for example, Seoul, there is a big difference.

“So I’m really frustrated, as the mayor of a city with a number of airports serving us – Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, City, plus the Eurostar – at the ease with which people can come in to our city, potentially with new strains of the virus.

“And that’s what we’ve been calling on the Government to make sure they stop the virus coming in through other means, and that’s why it is really important for them also to get a grip with international travel in relation to this virus.”

A spokesman for Heathrow Airport responded by saying that there were already some of these measures in place, but agreed that a pre-departure testing regime would assist the effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The spokesman said: “We have a number of measures in place to keep our passengers and colleagues safe. These measures include strategically placed hand sanitiser dispensers, Perspex screens, Covid marshals to assist with social distancing and the mandated use of face masks, as there are points of the passenger journey where social distancing may not be possible, UV robots and other anti-viral technologies.

“Heathrow has long called on Government to implement a pre-departure testing regime which will assist the country’s efforts to curb the spread of this disease.”

Cabinet Minister Michael Gove this morning told Good Morning Britain that the Government was looking into the possibility of implementing restrictions on international travel and that an announcement could be expected later today.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Transport said: “Protecting public health in the UK is of the utmost importance and we are looking at what additional measures could be taken with regards to international travel.”