SNP MP Angela Crawley has said Tory ‘dithering’ on bringing in
tougher border controls to stop the spread of Covid-19 is risking
lives – and called on to follow Scotland’s proposals to bring in supervised
quarantine for everyone entering the country.
Yesterday, the Scottish Government announced that they would
introduce a comprehensive system of supervised quarantine for all
those entering Scotland to minimise the risk of new strains
coming into the country.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) had said
“geographically targeted travel bans” were not enough to stop new
coronavirus strains from arriving in the country, and the only
way to “get close” to stopping them was to close the borders
completely or introduce mandatory hotel quarantine measures for
everyone entering the UK.
Despite admitting she wanted to close the borders last year – but
failed to act – the Home Secretary abstained on a vote in
Parliament on Monday to bring in tighter public health measures
at the border. As did and all six Scottish Tory MPs. In the past few months,
Scottish Tory MPs have voted against free school meals, abstained
on cuts to Universal Credit, abstained on workers' rights,
abstained on a trade ban for countries committing genocide, and
voted for Boris Johnson's damaging hard Brexit.
Commenting, said:
“The Tories have dithered and delayed over far too many decisions
since the start of the pandemic – and it is risking lives. Now
they are doing it again over tighter coronavirus border controls
– when will they learn?
“SAGE has said that the current approach is not working and the
UK government must go further. That means following Scotland’s
proposals for a comprehensive system of supervised quarantine.
The Scottish Government has followed the science and done what it
can within its power but this will not stop new strains coming
into Scotland via elsewhere in the UK. We need Westminster to
act.
"The SNP has been calling for tougher restrictions since the
pandemic began – but our calls were repeatedly ignored in favour
of half-baked measures. Thousands - if not millions - have been
allowed into the UK in the middle of a pandemic without the
necessary health measures in place.
“Countries that have employed effective international quarantine
measures are now reaping the rewards of reopening their economies
and, most importantly, reducing the unnecessary loss of life.
“It is time for the UK government to follow suit and immediately
bring in a system whereby all arrivals to the UK must quarantine
– no matter what country they have come from. But we cannot keep
waiting for Westminster to act – only with the full powers of
independence will the Scottish Government be able to fully
protect Scotland’s people and interests.”
