Spain opens its borders – but UK ministers urge people to avoid travel
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the country would be "very delighted to welcome all British tourists" - but the UK is advising against travel.
Spain has officially opened its doors to British tourists – but UK ministers are pleading with the public not to head abroad unless there is an “urgent” reason to do so.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed last week that the country would be “very delighted to welcome all British tourists” – allowing people to enter without having to quarantine, take a PCR test, or show proof of vaccination.
But the UK government has reminded any holidaying Brits they will still be subject to restrictions upon their return to Britain.
Spain has been placed on the ‘amber’ list – meaning passengers must self-isolate for 10 days when they get back to Britain.
Travellers will also need to take a pre-departure test and two additional tests on day two and day eight after their arrival.
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Spain, however, will still welcome UK tourists “without restrictions”.
Speaking to Sky News, business minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan insisted people should avoid trips to Spain for the time being.
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'Please don't go unless you really need to.'
Business minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan says people in the UK should not travel to Spain, or any country on the amber list, despite Spain lifting the restrictions on travellers from the UK.https://t.co/95zSqQK8jspic.twitter.com/3j0kcDFpJV
“The prime minister has been clear that, for now, amber means please don’t go unless there is an urgent family reason and so on,” she stated.
“Because we are still trying to slowly move through our roadmap to being able to open up on 21 June and we want to do that in a steady and careful way.”
Currently, there are 12 countries on the government’s ‘green list’. These are the nations considered low-risk, with no quarantine required upon arrival back in England.
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Passengers travelling from ‘green’ nations – such as Portugal, Iceland or Gibraltar – will still be required to complete a passenger locator form, provide a negative test result prior to travel and take another test on day two after returning home.
International visitors who have visited or transited through any ‘red’ country in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England. Only British and Irish citizens will be allowed to enter and must stay in a government-approved quarantine hotel for 10 days.
More information on the government’s traffic light travel system is available online.
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Rules around booking driving tests in UK change from today to make system ‘fairer’
Emily Sergeant
The rules around booking driving tests in the UK are officially set to change from today in a bid to make the system ‘fairer’.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has now introduced new rules for car driving test bookings, putting learners ‘firmly in control’ of their own booking, as it is now against the law for third parties – including unofficial test booking and cancellation finder services, as well as driving instructors – to make bookings for someone else.
It will also be a breach of DVSA’s terms and conditions for the booking service for third parties to change, swap, or cancel a driving test for someone else.
Learners should only ever pay the official DVSA fee – which is £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
The Government says the new rules aim to make booking driving tests ‘fairer’ for learner drivers.
While driving instructors will no longer be able to book tests on behalf of of learners, they will still be able to advise learners on when they are ready to take a test, as well as set their available times to prevent learners from booking tests at times that do not work for them.
Following on from changes to test alterations which were introduced at the end of March, from 9 June 2026, further restrictions will come into force limiting learners to moving their test only to one of the three nearest driving test centres.
The DVSA has also pledged to continue increasing driving examiner capacity to help provide more tests for learners to book.
“Our priority is to stop learners being exploited by third parties, put them in control of their driving test, and make the process fairer by clamping down on businesses that resell tests at inflated prices,” commented Beverley Warmington, who is the DVSA Chief Executive.
“These new measures help bring a halt to a system where the use of bots and third parties increases the amount some learners pay for a test and blocks test availability for many others.
“These measures will help free up appointments for genuine learners who are ready to take their test.”
Featured Image – Pxfuel
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Canal Street cordoned off after ‘suspicious chemicals’ reported at hotel
Daisy Jackson
Canal Street and several other streets in the Gay Village in Manchester have been cordoned off this afternoon.
Greater Manchester Police are attending reported of a smell that’s believed to be chemicals coming from a hotel room in the area.
There’s a huge emergency services presence in the area, including vehicles from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, and the North West Ambulance Service.
Police have confirmed that they have detained a man who is believed to have been the occupant of the hotel room.
The hotel itself has been evacuated while the material is examined.
Thankfully, no one has been injured in the incident that has shut down part of Canal Street today.
Emergency services vehicles at the scene on Canal StreetThe cordon in place on Canal Street
GMP said in a statement: “We are currently searching a hotel room at a premises on Canal Street, Manchester. This follows a report of a smell – currently believed to be chemicals – causing suspicion.
“A man, believed to be the occupant of the room, has been detained and is currently in custody.
“As a precautionary measure, the hotel has been evacuated while specialist resources examine the material and conduct further enquiries.
“No-one has been injured and we are working to establish the full circumstances. We thank people for their patience as we continue with our work.”
The Manc -
24th May 2021 
