The UK government’s threat of a 10-year jail term for those who lie about their travel history in violation of COVID-19 travel rules has been met with widespread criticism, including from the ranks of the ruling Conservative Party.
The government will be “coming down hard” on people who provide false information on the passenger locator form, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Tuesday in Parliament.
This announcement triggered immediate condemnation from Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK.
Lord Sumption, a former Supreme Court judge, also questioned the severity of the proposed sentence.
“Does Mr Hancock really think that non-disclosure of a visit to Portugal is worse than the large number of violent firearms offences or sexual offences involving minors, for which the maximum is seven years?”
Former Tory MP and ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve said the 10-year penalty was “exaggerated” and “not going to happen.”
But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps defended the proposed penalties by stressing that “the British public would expect pretty strong action” to prevent new variants of the CCP virus from entering the country.
“You would have to be very much going out of your way to evade and avoid the system and lie and cheat” to get the maximum penalty of 10 years, he told BBC “Breakfast”.