A trade petition seeking a vote of no confidence in transport secretary Grant Shapps has attracted more than 7,000 supporters in less than 24 hours.
It was set up after the announcement that Portugal was being relegated from the ‘safe’ green travel list to amber, which requires ten days quarantine on return to the UK, from 4am on Tuesday.
The change.org petition accuses Shapps of “failing the British public and the UK travel industry”.
It asks: “Why is the government continuing with ‘project fear’ when:
- 75% of UK adults have had 1 dose of the vaccine, thanks to the NHS and community of volunteers across the country
- 50% of UK adults (as of today, 3 June) have had both doses of the vaccine
- This week saw the first day of 0 deaths in the UK
- Green list arrivals are still subject to 2 tests – 1 to return to the UK, a second PCR test on day 0 – 2
- Airports and airlines have invested huge amounts of money to adapt their practices and make it a safe & comfortable environment for passengers
The petition, launched by ‘Alex A’, goes on to claim that Shapps is “no longer a competent leader” and is letting the travel industry fail.
It points out that Shapps announced the restart of international travel from May 17 but then is removing Portugal from the green list three weeks later, leaving Gibraltar as the only accessible quarantine free sun destination.
The petition can be found here.