Hundreds of thousands of Britons have
been rushing to cancel foreign holidays
amid warnings that the decision to
quarantine arrivals from Spain would
cause the collapse of overseas travel
this summer.
Experts said the government’s deci-
sion to announce the change hours
before it took effect would have a seis-
mic impact on the travel industry, with
would-be holidaymakers fearing that
restrictions could be imposed on other
countries with little or no warning.
Holidays to France, Italy and Greece
were being cancelled in large numbers
after Dominic Raab, the foreign secre-
tary, warned that quarantine measures
may be applied elsewhere. He said that
he “can’t give a guarantee” that other
countries would not follow.
One industry leader said the move
would be the “final nail in the coffin” of
companies already on the brink after
the almost complete shutdown since
March because of the pandemic.
The holidays of about 1.8 million Brit-
ons were left in tatters after the govern-
ment said on Saturday that arrivals
from Spain would have to quarantine
for two weeks from midnight that night.
Up to 600,000 Britons are in Spain.
The Foreign Office changed its
advice to warn against all non-essential
Graeme Paton Transport Correspondent
Ben Clatworthy Assistant Travel Editor
Steven Swinford
Holidays in
turmoil as
quarantine
is imposed
travel to the Spanish mainland, invali-
dating insurance, although the Canary
and Balearic islands were not included.
The change came after cases in Spain
tripled in a fortnight, from 8.8 cases per
100,000 to 27.4. In response Tui, the
biggest tour operator, cancelled all
holidays to the mainland for two weeks.
Labour described the government’s
handling of the affair as “shambolic”.
Passengers arriving from Spain yes-
terday said they realised only when
they boarded their flights that they
would need to enter quarantine at
home. Grant Shapps, the transport sec-
retary, and Paul Scully, the minister for
London, are among those in Spain who
will have to isolate on their return.
Some ministers criticised Mr Shapps
for pushing for restrictions to be lifted.
One said: “[He] was the strongest pro-
ponent of easing restrictions. Now he
has been hoisted by his own petard.”
Mr Raab insisted that the Spain
decision had been taken as “swiftly as
we could”, adding: “We can’t make
apologies for doing so.”
He told Sky News: “As we found with
Spain, we can’t give a guarantee. As you
can see we monitor the risk in real time,
we take decisive, swift action and so
there is an element of uncertainty as
people go abroad.”
Paul Charles, founder of the PC
Agency, the travel PR consultancy, said
it was feared that other countries could
Continued on page 2, col 3British belle Dame Olivia de Havilland, star of Gone with the Wind and one of
the last of Hollywood’s golden age, has died at 104. Page 5; Obituary, pages 48-Duchess
leaked stories
to the press,
book claims
Valentine LowThe Duchess of Sussex colluded with
paparazzi while working in Toronto as
an actress, according to a new book.
Finding Freedom, which is being seri-
alised in The Times and The Sunday
Times, claims that Meghan Markle
leaked information to the press when
she was appearing in the TV series Suits.
The disclosure highlights how her atti-
tude has changed since she met Prince
Harry in 2016.
The couple’s troubled relationship
with the media is one of the themes of
the book by Omid Scobie and Carolyn
Durand, which explores their state of
mind as they struggled to find happi-
ness within the royal family.
It tells how Meghan described criti-
cal articles in the tabloid press while she
was pregnant as “death by a thousand
cuts”. She is suing The Mail on Sunday
for breach of privacy over an article in
February last year that published de-
tails of a letter she wrote to her father.
In April the Sussexes announced that
they would no longer deal with some of
Britain’s biggest-selling newspapers,
saying what they printed was “distort-
ed, false or invasive”. However, when
Meghan was making her name in the
legal drama, she seemed more friendly.
The authors, who had access to some
of Meghan’s closest friends, describe
how the couple were in Toronto in
October 2016 when one of Harry’s
aides rang to say that a newspaper was
about to reveal the relationship. The
book says: “While Meghan, before she
met Harry, had occasionally set up a
paparazzi photo or let info slip out to the
press, she did everything in her power
to protect the privacy of her relation-
ship with the press.” As the story broke,
there were only a couple of paparazzi in
Toronto, but at least one had her num-
ber and “had already texted to ask if the
news was true; she didn’t reply”.
A spokesman for the Sussexes has
said that they did not contribute to
Finding Freedom. Buckingham Palace
has declined to comment.
Incandescent Harry, page 5
Times2, pages 2-Frantic rush to cancel foreign trips
EVERETT/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKMonday July 27 2020 | thetimes.co.uk | No 73222 2G £1.10 to subscribersRishi Sunak is considering a new
tax on goods sold online amid mount-
ing concern about the collapse of the
high street as Britain emerges from the
coronavirus crisis.
The chancellor is examining
proposals for an online sales tax to
provide a “sustainable and meaningful
ONLY
£the game
The blind date
that rocked royalty
Exclusive extracts from
Finding Freedom Times
United back in European elite
Villa survive but Watford go downPullout
Steven Swinford Deputy Political Editor
Chancellor considers online sales tax in bid to save high street
revenue source for the government”
and help bricks-and-mortar retailers to
compete.
In a call for evidence published last
week, the Treasury highlighted
concerns that business rates were in
effect penalising the high street
because online rivals did not need to
rent “high-value” properties.
It said that the coronavirus crisis “hashad a significant impact on how busi-
ness is done” and that the government
must act to make sure that “the tax
system raises sufficient revenue”.
The Treasury is also considering
radical plans to abolish business rates
and replace them with a “capital values
tax” based on the value of land and the
buildings on it. The tax would be paid by
the owner of the property rather thanthe business leasing it. The government
is understood to be considering two
forms of online sales tax. The first
would be a levy of about 2 per cent on
goods sold online, which would raise
about £2 billion a year.
The second would be a mandatory
charge on consumer deliveries, which
would form part of a campaign to cut
congestion and toxic emissions. Thereare concerns, however, that both
approaches could lead to higher costs
for consumers.
The Treasury said: “The pandemic
has had a significant impact on how
business is done, particularly for firms
which rely on customers visiting them.
The full impact of this will become clear
over time. As the economy moves
Continued on page 2, col 5