Grant Shapps caught up in government’s ‘shambolic’ quarantine announcement after he jetted to Spain

Transport secretary Grant Shapps on Sky News; Sky News, Twitter - Credit: Archant

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has said the way the government handled its latest quarantine announcement is ‘shambolic’, as it was revealed the transport secretary would be affected.

Shadow secretary labels governments Spain quarantine decision shambolic. Photo: Sky News. – Credit: Sky News

Ashworth spoke about the announcement made this weekend that people arriving from Spain will have to quarantine for two weeks – and said the way it has been communicated has been ‘causing anxiety’.

He also talked about the fact that transport secretary Grant Shapps is caught on holiday in Spain, saying that ‘you couldn’t make it up’ and that this tells people everything they need to know about the government.

Speaking on Sophy Ridge on Sunday, he said: ‘One of the big blunders of Boris Johnson from March was not quarantining travellers from Spain, France and Italy, but there are holidaymakers in Spain confused and distressed.

‘There are people about to go on holiday to Spain or the Canary Islands who are confused and they don’t know whether their employers will allow them to take two weeks quarantine.’


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Ashworth said the story only got out there because a Sunday journalist broke it on Twitter, and the government had to rush to confirm it. ‘That is no way to treat people who are on holiday or about to travel,’ he said.

The shadow secretary also asked for clarity from the government regarding financial support for holidaymakers whose employers do not cooperate: ‘When the government makes decisions, they have got to back it up with financial support for people, because this virus will spread when people have got no choice but to go to work.

‘It is a decision between putting food on their table or losing their jobs and staying at home. This is why we are not getting on top of the virus to the extent that we need to, because we are still not giving people the financial support.’