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Dominic Raab today warned there are no 'cast-iron guarantees' that Spain will remain quarantine-free for vaccinated Brits amid fears the country could be escalates to 'amber plus' next week.
The Foreign Secretary shrugged off anger at the uncertainty for holidaymakers, dodging questions about rumours of a new 'amber watchlist' and insisting the situation will become clear next week.
He said that if people need to make decisions immediately they will need to base them on the current 'traffic light' rules - but stressed they could change.
The comments came as France voiced fury at the 'incomprehensible' decision to leave it out of exemptions from quarantine for EU and US travellers coming to the UK. The country is on the 'amber plus' list amid fears over the prevalence of the Beta variant, although there is speculation it could be downgraded in the looming review.
Mr Raab openly admitted today that the classification for France was based on Beta cases 'in the Reunion bit of France' - which is an island in the Indian Ocean. 'It's not the distance that matters, it's the ease of travel between different component parts of any individual country,' he said.
Health officials are said to be 'getting very jumpy' about Spain's situation with the strain, which emerged in South Africa and is thought to be more resistant to the AstraZeneca vaccine given to millions in the UK.
Health officials are said to be 'getting very jumpy' about Spain's situation
