A TORY Cabinet minister has insisted that the Government took the “right decisions at the right time” through the coronavirus crisis, as the Home Secretary prepares to outline tougher border measures amid criticism the move is too late.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said “we did everything that we could to protect people’s lives”, but admitted some things could have been done differently “with the benefit of hindsight”.
He went on: “We took the decisions that we could at the time on the basis of the information that was available to us.
“And we did everything that we could to protect people’s lives and help to weather the storm, and take the country through this very challenging period.
“There is no textbook as to how to respond to a pandemic like this, but we do believe that we took the right decisions at the right time.”
READ MORE: Boris Johnson takes 'full responsibility' as UK Covid-19 death toll passes 100,000
His comments came as the UK Government’s figure for coronavirus deaths passed 100,000 – but separate data published by statistics agencies places the toll at 115,000. It is almost a year since the first known coronavirus death occurred in the UK on January 30.
Jenrick said Priti Patel would set out “further steps” to control the flow of people arriving into England in a Commons statement later today. She is expected to announce a limited plan forcing arrivals from Covid-19 hotspots to quarantine in hotels.
The move is designed to protect the country against new coronavirus variants arriving from overseas – but these are said to be softer than Patel had hoped, with The Times reporting she had pushed for a temporary closure of the UK’s borders, but was overruled by Johnson.
There was no official comment following the meeting of the Covid operations committee of senior ministers yesterday, but Whitehall sources ahead of the talks suggested the measures could stop short of mandatory hotel quarantines for all arrivals.
They suggested that the rules may only apply to British nationals returning to England from high-risk nations, with passengers expected to cover the price of quarantining.
The Times reported that the committee rejected calls for a full border closure and will instead limit it to those returning from 30 countries already covered by the travel ban - including South America, Portugal and Cape Verde, as well as South Africa and neighbouring nations.
Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth criticised the Government for failing to impose strict measures at the borders soon enough.
READ MORE: Covid update Scotland: Quarantine hotels set to keep out new virus strains
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said: “We should have had comprehensive border controls in for the past year.
“Priti Patel and Boris Johnson, they tell us they want to take control of their borders, but the one time it actually mattered, and they needed to take control of our borders to protect us, they failed.
“I would urge the Government to look at a comprehensive policy, not just the hotspots, because remember, there will be areas or countries across the world where there are mutations which haven’t been identified yet because they don’t have the same level of scientific ability.”
In Scotland, deputy first minister John Swinney said yesterday that the Scottish Government would “go at least as far” as England in enhancing quarantine arrangements.
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