It's 'too early' to book summer holidays for 2021 - what Dominic Raab said

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has advised that it is "too early" for UK residents to begin booking summer holidays for this year, in spite of the vaccine rollout.

Mr Raab  spoke to LBC presenter Tom Swarbrick on Sunday (17 Jan) and urged the public to continue following the guidance set out by the Government.

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Asked whether people should book a summer holiday in spite of current restrictions, Mr Raab said: “I think at the moment it’s too early, I think you have to follow the guidance that we’re putting out.

“The rules now are very clear that people shouldn’t be travelling domestically, or certainly internationally, unless there are very exceptional reasons.

“I’m afraid until we’re in a position to give the reassurance, I think it’s very difficult to plan.”

Closure of travel corridors is 'temporary and precautionary'

The Foreign Secretary's comments come in the wake of new measures imposed on travel by the Government, including the removal of travel corridors which previously allowed members of the public to negate quarantine when travelling to certain areas.

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The Sunday Times has reported that ministers were considering further border measures, including quarantine "hotels" at airports for arrivals into the UK.

Mr Raab denied that arrivals would be made to pay to quarantine in such hotels, but added that the Government would “keep other measures under review.” He said that the removal of travel corridors is a  “temporary, precautionary measure” introduced in order to protect the NHS.

Why not close travel corridors sooner?

The UK government came under recent fire for a perceived lateness in introducing strict border measures, which have been in place in other countries for some months.

When asked why measures were not introduced at the UK border sooner, Mr Raab said: "Because really they're targeted at protecting the NHS through the latter end of the winter months and the new variants, if you like, are the game changer.

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"What we don't want to see is either more lethal versions of the virus coming into the UK."

He added: "The advice which we followed all along was that it wasn't an effective measure to take at the point where we had the virus swelling around the UK."