London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Feb 21, 2026

UK quarantine plans and £1,000 penalties confirmed

UK quarantine plans and £1,000 penalties confirmed

Plans to force almost all arrivals to the UK to isolate for 14 days have been confirmed by the home secretary.

Priti Patel told the Commons that Border Force will check that travellers fill out a form with their contact details and location for isolation.

Leaving isolation prematurely in England could result in a fine of up to £1,000 or prosecution, she said.

"We will not allow a reckless minority to put our domestic recovery at risk," she said.

Ms Patel told MPs that scientific advisers had said quarantine would not have been effective earlier in the coronavirus pandemic when infection rates in the UK were higher.

But now, imported cases of the virus posed a more significant threat, she said, so it was now important to "protect our hard-won progress as we move in the right direction".

It comes as the latest Department of Health figures show another 359 people have died after contracting coronavirus, bringing the UK total to 39,728. An additional 1,871 people tested positive in the last 24-hour period.

Asked at the Downing Street briefing whether he would recommend people in the UK book foreign holidays, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public to follow Foreign Office guidance against non-essential travel. "We've got to knock this virus on the head," he said.

And while he urged EU workers who had left the UK because their jobs had disappeared during lockdown to return, he ruled out any alternatives to quarantine for them, such as a medical certificate.

"Come back to London, or the UK - but you've got to quarantine. Everybody has been in lockdown for a long time, I know it's an imposition, but we really have got to beat this virus," he said.

Ms Patel said in the Commons that the "proportionate and time-limited measures" would come into force on Monday, with "limited exemptions" intended to ensure supplies of essential items such as food and protective equipment were not disrupted.

The regulations apply to England, and Ms Patel said devolved administrations would set out their own rules for enforcing the quarantine.

Ms Patel said the measures would be reviewed after three weeks and the government would aim to ensure greater freedom in the long term, including establishing "international travel corridors" with countries deemed to be safe.

Ryanair said the proposals were "utterly ineffective", with arrivals travelling from the airport before they isolate, potentially spreading infection, while the government would phone "less than 1%" of them to check they were complying.

"This 14-day UK quarantine is ineffective, completely useless, and will have no effect on British passengers who will largely ignore it," a spokeswoman said.

The Confederation of British Industry said it needed more detail on how the policy would be reviewed, who would be exempt and how the international travel corridors with key trading partners could be created.

"Businesses and government urgently need to draw up an internationally coordinated plan to get people safely moving across borders as soon as possible," said CBI president John Allen.

Sources at the French and Italian foreign ministries told the BBC there had been no bilateral talks yet about lifting the quarantine plans and establishing travel corridors or "air bridges" with the UK.

"If the UK imposes a quarantine period, we will apply it too," a French official said.

The plan has sparked concern among several Tory MPs, with former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers calling for it to be suspended while travel corridors are set up, to "save jobs in aviation and let families go on their summer breaks in the sun".

Speaking at an earlier debate about the aviation industry, former prime minister Theresa May said quarantine would "close Britain off from the rest of the world".


Deportation 'a last resort'


Labour's shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said people needed reassurance that this was not "a three-week fudge to try to spare the government embarrassment for failing to grip this issue at the right time".

He said only 273 people had been quarantined in the early stages of the pandemic as 18 million visitors arrived in the UK, with the government's own advisers saying many cases came not from China but from places in Europe.

Under the new rules, most arrivals to the UK will have to fill out a "contact locator form" with details of where they will isolate for two weeks and how they can be contacted.

Anyone failing to remain in isolation will face a £1,000 fixed penalty in England, with prosecution and an unlimited fine potentially to follow, the Home Office said.

Failure to fill in the form can also be punished with a £100 fine.

Border Force can refuse entry to non-residents who do not comply, and the Home Office also said that deportation would be considered "as a last resort" for foreign nationals who fail to isolate.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Confirms Preferential U.S. Trading Terms Will Continue After Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
U.S. and U.K. to Hold Talks on Diego Garcia as Iran Objects to Potential Military Use
UK Officials Weigh Possible Changes to Prince Andrew’s Position in Line of Succession Amid Ongoing Scrutiny
British Police Probe Epstein’s UK Airport Links and Expand High-Profile Inquiries
United Kingdom Denies U.S. Access to Military Base for Potential Iran Strike
British Co-founder of ASOS falls to his death from Pattaya apartment
Early 2026 Data Suggests Tentative Recovery for UK Businesses and Households
UK Introduces Digital-First Passport Rules for Dual Citizens in Border Control Overhaul
Unable to Access Live Financial Data for January UK Surplus Report
UK Government Considers Law to Remove Prince Andrew from Royal Line of Succession
UK ‘Working Closely with US’ to Assess Impact of Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
Trump Criticises UK Decision to Restrict Use of Bases in Potential Iran Strike Scenario
UK Foreign Secretary and U.S. State Chief Hold Strategic Talks as Tensions Rise Over Joint Air Base
Two teens arrested in France for alleged terror plot.
Nordic Fracture: How Criminal Scandals and Toxic Ties are Dismantling the Norwegian Crown
US Supreme Court Voids Trump’s Emergency Tariff Plan, Reshaping Trade Power and Fiscal Risk
King Charles III Opens London Fashion Week as Royal Family Faces Fresh Scrutiny
Trump’s Evolving Stance on UK Chagos Islands Deal Draws Renewed Scrutiny
House Democrat Says Former UK Ambassador Unable to Testify in Congressional Epstein Inquiry
No Record of Prince Andrew Arrest in UK as Claims Circulate Online
UK Has Not Granted US Approval to Launch Iran Strikes from RAF Bases, Government Confirms
AI Pricing Pressure Mounts as Chinese Models Undercut US Rivals and Margin Risks Grow
Global Counsel, Advisory Firm Co-Founded by Lord Mandelson, Enters Administration After Client Exodus
London High Court dispute over Ricardo Salinas’s $400mn Elektra share-backed bitcoin loan
UK Intensifies Efforts to Secure Saudi Investment in Next-Generation Fighter Jet Programme
Former Student Files Civil Claim Against UK Authorities After Rape Charges Against Peers Are Dropped
Archer Aviation Chooses Bristol for New UK Engineering Hub to Drive Electric Air Taxi Expansion
UK Sees Surge in Medical Device Testing as Government Pushes Global Competitiveness
UK Competition Watchdog Flags Concerns Over Proposed Getty Images–Shutterstock Merger
Trump Reasserts Opposition to UK Chagos Islands Proposal, Urges Stronger Strategic Alignment
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis advocates for a ban on minors using social media.
Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash Accuses Prime Minister of Lying to Australians
Meanwhile in Time Square, NYC One of the most famous landmarks
Jensen Huang just told the story of how Elon Musk became NVIDIA’s very first customer for their powerful AI supercomputer
A Lunar New Year event in Taiwan briefly came to a halt after a temple official standing beside President Lai Ching‑te suddenly vomited, splashing Lai’s clothing
Jillian Michaels reveals Bill Gates’ $55 million investment in mRNA vaccines turned into over $1 billion.
Ex-Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrested
Former British Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office
Four Chagos Islanders Establish Permanent Settlement on Atoll
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
UK Inflation Slows Sharply in January, Strengthening Case for Bank of England Rate Cut
Hide the truth, fake the facts, pretend the opposite, Britain is as usual
France President Macron says Free Speech is Bull Sh!t
Viktor Orbán getting massive praise for keeping Hungary safe, rich and migrant-free!
UK Inflation Falls to Ten-Month Low, Markets Anticipate Interest Rate Cut
UK House Prices Climb 2.4% in December as Market Shows Signs of Stabilisation
BAE Systems Predicts Sustained Expansion as Defence Orders Reach Record High
Pro-Palestine Activists Cleared of Burglary Charges Over Break-In at UK Israeli Arms Facility
Former Reform UK Councillors Form New Local Group Amid Party Fragmentation
Reform UK Pledges to Retain Britain’s Budget Watchdog as It Seeks Broader Economic Credibility
×