COVID-19: Tory MPs furious with "excessive" 10-year-sentence for lying travellers entering UK

The government faces a furious backlash from their own MPs after announcing a maximum prison sentence of 10 years for travellers who lie about which country they came from when entering the UK.

Matt Hancock announced the tough new measures on Tuesday aimed at preventing new mutant strains of coronavirus from entering Britain.

Some Conservative MPs have reacted with fury at the new measures for being too strict.

According to newspaper reports, the Cabinet is split on the issue of the new punishment for travellers, and the policy may be scrapped. The travel industry also criticised the move as trying to scare people from leaving the country, which could further damage the already impaired tourism sector.

The government will put in place a hotel quarantine rule which means arrivals from 33 red list countries must now pay to isolate in hotels for their quarantine period. All other arrivals must do so at home or a destination of their choice. On top of this travellers must take three coronavirus tests in total when coming to the UK, and all Brits are banned from going on holiday abroad.

Read more: MPs’ quarantine fury as 10-year sentence for breaching Covid travel rules longer than child sex offences - https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14002241/covid-travel-quarantine-mp-fury-sentence/

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