London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jun 02, 2026

Covid: 'Build walls higher' to stop Covid variants, says FM

Covid: 'Build walls higher' to stop Covid variants, says FM

The UK should "build walls higher" to stop new variants entering the country, Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.

As part of England's roadmap out of lockdown, the UK Government has said international travel could resume no earlier than 17 May.

But Welsh and UK Labour leaders say it is too soon. Sir Keir Starmer said not enough had been done to secure borders.

Boris Johnson says the current system is among the toughest in the world.

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies called Mr Drakeford's comments "Trump-esque".

The two Labour politicians made the comments in a joint virtual event on Monday.

It comes as health officials in England attempt to trace one person who has been infected with a concerning coronavirus variant first found in Brazil.

It is one of six cases of the P1 variant found in the UK in February.

Travellers to England from 33 countries have been required to quarantine in hotels for 10 days, since earlier last month.

Wales has adopted the same rules as England, while in Scotland the rule applies to international travellers from all countries.

Sir Keir said the search for the individual in England infected with a variant first found in Brazil "demonstrates the slowness of the government to close off even the major routes, but also the unwillingness to confront the fact that the virus doesn't travel by direct flights".

"I still think we have not secured our borders in the way that we should have done and the sooner that's done the better."

Mr Drakeford said the mid-May travel date "worries me hugely".

Wales saw a "big importation" of virus last September when people returned from foreign holidays, he said.

"I would build the walls higher for now against the risk that we would bring in to this country the variants that could brewing in any part of the world and could then put at risk all the careful work that we have done to try to keep Wales safe."

Later, at a press conference Mr Drakeford said Cardiff Airport, which is owned by the Welsh Government, would not take any flights from countries on the so-called "red list".

He said he would have the policy "the opposite way to the UK Government".

"I would say we shouldn't be having international travel, but here is a list of countries where we are confident that things are under control".

No "red list" flights will be allowed at Cardiff Airport, says Mark Drakeford

Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the UK Government's measures on Monday.

"We have got one of the toughest border regimes anywhere in the world for stopping people coming in to this country who may have variants of concern," he said.

He said the government had moved "as fast as we could" with introducing hotel quarantine measures, describing it as a "very tough regime".

Andrew RT Davies told BBC Wales the first minister was "full of hot air".

'Not time for travel'


"Let's not forget back last June when Ryanair were flying flights in [to Cardiff] from Faro and Malaga," he said, adding "all" the Welsh Government had done in response was "write a letter".

Plaid Cymru's Helen Mary Jones agreed with the first minister that "this was not the time for international travel" and said restrictions should remain tight for the time being.

A UK Government spokesman said: "We continue to take every necessary step to protect the public and prevent the spread of the virus, including the stringent border measures currently in place.

"The reformed Global Travel Taskforce will assess how we can safely facilitate international travel when the time is right and while managing the risk of imported cases and variants."


This animated map shows how the case rate has changed across Wales since December


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×