Government announce 10 year jail sentences and £10k fines for people ignoring new travel rules

Matt Hancock addressed the House of Commons today, announcing new travel restrictions for people coming to the UK.

The health secretary unveiled tough new rules for anyone who wants to visit the country, which includes the possibility of being jailed for up to 10 years.

Mr Hancock made ‘no apologies’ for the strict new rules, adding that anyone lying about where they had been when arriving in the UK  – to avoid quarantine in a hotel – could be jailed for up to 10 years.

And anyone who refuses to quarantine after entering the country from a ‘red list’ country, like South Africa, Brazil or Dubai, can be hit with fines of between £5,000 and £10,000.

He said: “Anyone who lies on the passenger locator form and tries to conceal that they’ve been in a country on the red list in the 10 days before arrival here will face a prison sentence of up to 10 years.”

Travellers who are quarantining must get a test on day two and day eight of their 10-day isolation period – if the PCR test is positive, people will be forced to stay in the hotel until they are no longer infectious.

People who refuses to take a Covid test two days after arriving will be given a £1,000 fine, with anyone refusing to take the second test getting a £2,000 fine.

Mr Hancock told the Commons: “People who flout these rules are putting us all at risk.

“Passenger carriers will have a duty in law to make sure that passengers have signed up for these new arrangements before they travel, and will be fined if they don’t, and we will be putting in place tough fines for people who don’t comply.

“This includes a £1,000 penalty for any international arrival who fails to take a mandatory test, a £2,000 penalty for any international arrival who fails to take the second mandatory test, as well as automatically extending their quarantine period to 14 days, and a £5,000 fixed penalty notice – rising to £10,000 – for arrivals who fail to quarantine in a designated hotel.”

The new rules will come into effect from Monday February 15th, the health secretary said, adding that full guidance will be issued on Thursday.

There will also be a new portal to book a quarantine hotel and tests when arriving in the country, with people having to fork out £1,750 for ‘a quarantine package’ – in which they’ll have to isolate in a hotel room, with security guards checking on them.

Mr Hancock said that he wanted to make it clear that travelling for leisure is currently illegal.