Row builds over potential amber travel watchlist – and Spanish holidays could be among the first affected
A row over a possible amber travel watchlist has erupted after it was criticised by some Tory backbenchers, the travel industry and Labour.
The government is set to announce changes to the system this week, including a new amber COVID watchlist of countries which could move to the red list with little warning.
Travellers returning to the UK from red list countries have to pay £1,750 to stay in hotel quarantine for 10 days.
Spain is understood to be one of the countries being considered for the list, which could cause problems for up to a million British tourists currently on holiday there.
There are concerns Greece and Italy could follow.
The possible amber watchlist will come shortly after passengers coming from amber list countries but vaccinated in the US or EU were allowed to avoid isolating for 10 days from Monday. Those vaccinated in the UK were already allowed to avoid self-isolation from amber list countries.
The upcoming announcement has caused a row within government, with Huw Merriman, the Conservative chairman of the Commons transport committee, saying an amber watchlist is a “giant red flag” and would cause booking cancellations and complications.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is understood to have written to Boris Johnson to warn that the UK’s travel restrictions are “out of step” compared with other countries.
But Matt Warman, minister for digital infrastructure, said the travel watchlist provided people with information to make “informed decisions”.
He told Sky News: “People do have to make common sense judgements and that may involve taking into consideration the fact that a country’s rates may indeed be getting worse.
“The most important thing that the government can do is make sure that people have as much information as they possibly can; that they have information about which direction a foreign country might be going in so that they don’t inadvertently find themselves having to quarantine when they get back.”
Heathrow’s chief executive said the rules on travel needed to be kept simple
According to Times Radio, senior industry figures said the government was “tying itself in knots with these inexplicably complicated rules”.
Travel industry bosses said tens of thousands of jobs were at risk in the aviation and travel sectors because of government changes to the lists.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye told Sky News: “I think we need to keep it simple and build confidence that vaccination works.
“I’d like to see France coming back on the amber list and an extension of the green list.”
Airlines UK chief executive Tim Alderslade said placing France on the “amber-plus” list was a “total disaster” after ministers revealed the change was prompted by a surge in Beta variant cases on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion.
Everyone arriving from France, including those who are fully vaccinated, must self-isolate for 10 days.
A group of UK airline bosses, including from British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair, has written to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps calling for the government to reduce the “still onerous and increasingly disproportionate burden of testing on travellers” and to move more countries to the green list – which does away with the need to quarantine.
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Labour’s Anneliese Dodds told Sky News the UK was “in a chaotic situation” and called for the government to release data for countries being moved around the travel list.
“It looks like yet again the government is in disarray even over that, some are for it and some are against it,” she said.
“Why can’t we provide holidaymakers with the data?
“I don’t understand why the Conservative government are so reluctant to do that.”
A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry.
According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange.
That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down.
However, since Trump won the presidency in 2024, many lawmakers have accused the president of corruption from profiting off crypto while being in a position to influence laws and regulations over the industry.
Trump has launched his own memecoin — which earns the project millions of dollars in transaction fees — and offered the top tokenholders the opportunity to attend an exclusive dinner in Washington, DC. His family-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial also recently announced that an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, MGX, would settle a $2 billion investment in Binance using the platform’s USD1 stablecoin.
“Our concerns about Binance’s compliance obligations are even more pressing given recent reports that the company is using the Trump family’s stablecoin to partner with foreign investment companies,” the senators said in the letter, according to Bloomberg.
Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report
Stablecoin bill fails to pass the US Senate
The letter came less than 24 hours after some of the same senators blocked a crucial vote on a bill to regulate stablecoins, named the GENIUS Act. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who reportedly signed the letter and opposed moving forward on the stablecoin bill, suggested the Senate should not be aligned with “facilitat[ing] this kind of corruption” from Trump.
Bessent said the Senate “missed an opportunity” by not passing the stablecoin bill, but did not directly address any of the concerns over Trump’s crypto interests. It’s unclear if or when the chamber could consider another vote on the bill.
In an April 23 report, the nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action said roughly 40% of Trump’s net worth was tied to crypto. The group noted that the GENIUS Act, in its current version, “would not prevent President Trump from using his executive powers to establish a regulatory environment and enforcement agenda that prioritizes his personal enrichment over the broader interests of US stakeholders.”
Amid the concerns with the stablecoin and proposed market structure bills, Zhao reportedly applied for a federal pardon from Trump. Though the former CEO already served four months in prison, a pardon for his felony charge could allow him to get more involved with the crypto industry through a management position.
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Taiwanese lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has called on the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserves, suggesting it could serve as a hedge against global economic uncertainty.
Ko, a legislator at-large in Taiwan’s legislative body, the Legislative Yuan, took to X on Friday to report that he had advocated Bitcoin (BTC) investment by the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.
In his remarks, Ko cited Bitcoin’s potential to become a hedge amid global economic risks and urged Taiwan to recognize the cryptocurrency alongside gold and foreign exchange reserves to boost its financial resilience.
Ko’s announcement came shortly after the legislator held talks with Samson Mow, who advocates for Bitcoin adoption by states like El Salvador at his BTC tech firm Jan3.
Taiwan is an export-oriented economy
Ko highlighted that Taiwan is an export-driven economy that has experienced significant fluctuations in its national currency, the New Taiwan dollar, amid global inflation and intensifying geopolitical risks.
“We currently have a gold reserve of 423 metric tons, and our foreign exchange reserves amount to $577 billion, including investments in US Treasury bonds,” the lawmaker stated.
In a scenario of more intense currency volatility or potential regional conflicts, Taiwan may “very likely be unable to ensure the security and liquidity,” Ko continued, adding that Bitcoin could be a great addition to Taiwan’s reserves for several reasons.
“Bitcoin has been operating for over 15 years. It has a fixed total supply, is decentralized, and is resistant to censorship. Many countries are focusing on its hedging attributes. At the same time, in intense situations, it may not face the risk of embargo,” he said.
Bitcoin is not the only solution
Referring to many global initiatives considering Bitcoin adoption as a reserve asset, Ko stressed that he’s not advocating for Bitcoin as the “only solution” to rising economic challenges.
Instead, the legislator suggested adding a “small proportion of Bitcoin” into the diversified assets as tools for sovereign asset allocation and risk hedging, and backup capacity of Taiwan’s financial system.
Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report
He previously suggested that Taiwan could allocate a maximum of 5% of its $50 billion reserve to Bitcoin in an X post on May 6.
“When exchange rate risk and regional uncertainty increase, it is time to introduce new tools to construct a more flexible financial strategy framework,” Ko said, adding:
“As former Dean Chen Chong said, Bitcoin is the gun of the digital era. It may also be the gold of the digital era, the silver of the digital era. Or it could be gunpowder. A wise nation will not let weapons be in others’ hands.”
The news comes as Taiwan is emerging as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, with the Financial Supervisory Commission pushing institutional trials of crypto custody services in late 2024.
Mainland China continues to maintain its hostile stance on cryptocurrency after imposing a ban on multiple crypto activities, including mining, in 2021.
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