Jet-setting Climate Tsar Alok Sharma should quarantine in a hotel, say angry ...

Jet-setting Climate Tsar Alok Sharma should quarantine in a hotel, say angry ...
Jet-setting Climate Tsar Alok Sharma should quarantine in a hotel, say angry ...

Jet-setting Alok Sharma must quarantine in a hotel like everyone else, angry travellers and MPs insisted last night.

The Climate Tsar was accused of hypocrisy when the Daily Mail revealed he had been exempted from self-isolation after visiting 'red-list' countries.

Highlighting what critics said was 'one rule for them and another for us', he will be allowed to return to his £1.7million home when he gets back from an official trip to Brazil.

At the same time, hundreds of British families are scrambling to flee Mexico to avoid a £2,285 bill for ten days of quarantine in a hotel room after the country was moved on to the red list.

Jet-setting Alok Sharma (pictured left on Brazil trip) must quarantine in a hotel like everyone else on his return from Brazil, angry travellers and MPs insisted last night

Jet-setting Alok Sharma (pictured left on Brazil trip) must quarantine in a hotel like everyone else on his return from Brazil, angry travellers and MPs insisted last night

A senior Tory MP said Mr Sharma should self-isolate on his return from Brazil.

'If you're going to red-list countries then I think, irrespective of whether you are a minister or not, you have the potential to carry a deadly virus and pass it on,' the MP said.

£1.7m home with pool Sharma can come and go from... 

Quarantine is unlikely to be a hardship for Alok Sharma in his luxury home in Caversham, near Reading.

He and his family live on a beautiful tree-lined avenue of large detached houses, each with its own sizeable plot of land.

The minister bought the home – which is kept completely private by trees and hedges – for £850,000 in 2003.

It is now estimated to be worth around £1.7million.

Quarantine is unlikely to be a hardship for Alok Sharma in his luxury home (pictured) in Caversham, near Reading

Quarantine is unlikely to be a hardship for Alok Sharma in his luxury home (pictured) in Caversham, near Reading

The driveway has ample room for several cars, which can also be kept in the triple garage. 

And the house itself boasts plenty of space for Mr Sharma, 53, his wife Ingela and their two daughters.

But the biggest draw is sure to be the garden, which has a swimming pool. 

Should this prove too restrictive, it's a short stroll from the Berkshire countryside.

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'The law may allow it because there are exemptions, but I think when it comes to red-list countries they need to be very, very careful as to whether the meeting really was necessary and whether it could have been done virtually.

'It's not going down well with the public with two rules – one for them and one for us. 

'Given that we've already had high-profile examples – Cummings, Jenrick, Hancock – it would have been prudent to quarantine.'

In other developments yesterday:

Boris Johnson did not self-isolate after a member of his team tested positive for Covid; Other ministers jetted overseas at public expense and enjoyed activities like olive oil tasting and museum visits when most travel was restricted; MPs will be able to claim back the cost of coronavirus tests for junkets abroad; Covid infection levels have dropped by their biggest margin since lockdown measures were eased; The UK recorded another 92 virus deaths and a further 31,808 cases yesterday.

Mr Sharma has travelled tens of thousands of miles over the past seven months to prepare the ground for the COP26 global environment summit in Glasgow this autumn.

He sparked accusations of hypocrisy for flying to at least 30 countries while urging them to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

And despite visiting at least six countries on the UK's travel 'red list', he has been given a ministerial exemption from hotel quarantine each time. 

He has also been able to avoid having to isolate at home following 'amber list' trips. Days after returning from red-list Bangladesh, 

Mr Sharma met Prince Charles indoors without a mask – then visited a primary school.

Ordinary travellers face fines of up to £10,000 for breaking travel quarantine rules. 

Gillian Scott, 36, is isolating in a hotel with her student daughter Jenna, 19, after returning to the UK from Dubai where she was visiting her terminally-ill father Hughie Cochrane.

... and cramped quarantine hotel others are stuck in 

Andy Roberts (pictured) is in quarantine at the Sandman Signature Hotel at Gatwick

Andy Roberts (pictured) is in quarantine at the Sandman Signature Hotel at Gatwick

Andy Roberts has been in quarantine at the Sandman Signature Hotel at Gatwick with his wife and two daughters since arriving back from Brazil last Sunday.

Mr Roberts, 36, Roseane Alves and their daughters Sofia, eight, and Julia, seven, were forced to sleep in just one room on the first night.

They have since moved into adjoining rooms. The 11-night stay is costing £3,050. 

Mr Roberts said he found it 'very grating' when he discovered Alok Sharma had been able to travel around the world – including Brazil – apparently avoiding quarantine rules. 

Mr Roberts, 36, Roseane Alves and their daughters Sofia, eight, and Julia, seven, were forced to sleep in just one room at the Sandman Signature Hotel (pictured)

Mr Roberts, 36, Roseane Alves and their daughters Sofia, eight, and Julia, seven, were forced to sleep in just one room at the Sandman Signature Hotel (pictured)

'These hotels are absolutely packed with families like us who are having to sacrifice an awful lot,' he said.

The family have returned to the UK after living in Brazil, for 13 years where Mr Roberts, originally from York, has worked as a missionary.

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Mrs Scott, who cares for vulnerable children, asked to avoid quarantine on compassionate grounds but was refused.

'When I asked to be spared quarantine because of my situation there was no compassion,' she said. 

'I'm really not sure if my requests were even read. I then woke up to discover Alok Sharma keeps being able to avoid quarantine.

'I'm already suffering anxiety because of my father, but this was the icing on the cake. It's utterly infuriating.

'We're stuck in what feels like a prison while he gets to float in and out of the UK as if life is normal. I'm so upset, I've been crying.'

A mother of two, who had to quarantine in a hotel at Heathrow after returning from South Africa with her family, accused Mr Sharma of 'complete hypocrisy'.

The 34-year-old said: 'Our quarantining experience was so awful and disgusting. 

'We had to endure a dirty room and food that made us ill. 

'So, to hear that this minister can skip quarantine is so unfair.

'I can't tell you how upset that makes me feel. I think it's completely hypocritical.' 

Paul Charles chief executive of the PC Agency, a travel consultancy, said: 'It's again an example where ministers seem to be living in a different world to the rest of us.

'If I'm a small business and I travel abroad on essential business, which I would regard as protecting jobs or creating jobs, then does this now mean that I can avoid quarantine as well?'

Labour frontbencher David Lammy said the number of international journeys Mr Alok undertook was 'bizarre' considering his environment role.

But the Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'As COP26 president, Alok Sharma is leading climate negotiations with countries including major emitters to cut emissions and secure ambitious action ahead of the summit. 

The majority of this work is done remotely but some travel to key countries for face-to-face talks is essential.

'He has secured ambitious action as a result of the discussions he has had. 

'For example, immediately following his visit to Japan and South Korea the governments there committed to ambitious net zero targets which was a key ask from the UK.' 

Asked if Mr Sharma would quarantine on his return from Brazil, the spokesman replied: 'He will continue to comply with the rules as set out.'

The Cabinet minister lives in Reading with wife Ingela and their two daughters. 

One rule for them yet again: JOHN HUMPHRYS criticises Alok Sharma for spending seven months jetting around the world ignoring Covid regulations knowing they don't apply to him

By John Humphrys for the Daily Mail 

Hypocrisy is said to be the tribute that vice pays to

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