THE Scottish Government has responded to Andy Burnham's criticism of a travel ban between Scotland and two English cities.
Rising cases of Covid-19 in Manchester and Salford meant that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon implemented a travel ban between Scotland and the two cities that will come into force on Monday.
North-west England had the highest proportion of people testing positive for coronavirus in the week to June 12, at around one in 180 people.
Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, responded to the travel ban in a tweet, accusing the Scottish Government of "double standards".
READ MORE: Andy Burnham in row with Nicola Sturgeon over Manchester travel ban
He wrote: "This seems unnecessary to me … and it would have been nice if @NicolaSturgeon had contacted us beforehand to discuss it.
"Maybe the Scottish Government should try living by the same standards it frequently accuses the UK Government of lacking?
"And will they be providing any compensation for Greater Manchester residents whose trips are now being cancelled or businesses here losing bookings?"
And will they be providing any compensation for Greater Manchester residents whose trips are now being cancelled or businesses here losing bookings?
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) June 19, 2021
The Scottish Government has responded to Burnham's concerns and accepted that the change would "disappointing" for many.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon confirms travel ban between Scotland and Salford and Manchester
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “This legislation was announced to parliament on Thursday. The Scottish rules on travel to and from other parts of the Common Travel Area are kept under active review and are subject to change depending on the state of the pandemic. Given the importance of using up-to-date data, this can sometimes happen at short notice.
“We realise that for those with family or friends in Manchester or Salford, or for anyone who was simply planning a visit, this is disappointing. But rates of Covid in these cities are particularly high at the moment and these restrictions are intended to minimise the risk of either exacerbating the situation there or indeed allowing more virus to come back here to Scotland.”
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