Health secretary urges patience on summer holidays after booking his own trip
The health secretary has urged people not to book summer holidays until there is further clarity over lockdown restrictions, despite booking his own trip to Cornwall.
Asked if people should be booking vacations after the Prime Minister urged people to hold off on plans, Matt Hancock said this morning: “I do understand, of course, the yearning for certainty. But certainty is hard in the pandemic.
“It is difficult at this point and people will have to be patient. But we are doing everything we can to make sure people can have that holiday.”
But just 10 days ago, Hancock said he hoped Brits would be able to enjoy a “happy and free great British summer,” revealing that he has already booked his own family break in Cornwall.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps yesterday reinstated that “people shouldn’t be booking holidays right now — not domestically or internationally”, marking a further blow for the beleaguered travel industry.
Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye called for a comprehensive “flight plan” to safely reopen Britain’s borders later in the year, slamming Shapps’ announcement as “essentially a border closure”.
Boris Johnson has said he will provide further details on 22 February when the government is due to publish its “roadmap” for exiting England’s third national lockdown.
The PM insisted that “it is just too early for people to be certain about what we’ll be able to do this summer,” adding: “I understand why people want to make plans now but we’re just going to have to be a little bit more patient.”