BRITAIN will on Monday (5) set out plans to restart international travel, using a "traffic-light" system as the country cautiously emerges from lockdown.
The announcement comes as the UK has set a tentative date of May 17 to relaunch international travel.
Travel destinations will be ranked green, amber or red according to virus risk, Downing Street said in a statement last week, with the government to provide more details on Monday.
International travel is currently banned except for a handful of permitted reasons. This has created massive pent-up demand for summer holidays abroad.
"We are doing everything we can to enable the reopening of our country... as safely as possible," prime minister Boris Johnson said.
The government said the new system "will help ensure the UK's vaccine progress isn't jeopardised and provide clear guidance for travellers".
People heading to low-risk "green" countries will simply take a virus test before and after they travel, the government said.
But those going to amber or red countries will have to self-isolate or quarantine afterwards.
Currently people arriving in the UK from abroad are required to self-isolate for 10 days.
British nationals who arrive from a banned "red list" of high-risk countries face costly quarantine in government-approved hotels.
The government urged people not to book summer holidays, saying it was "too early to predict" which would be the green-lighted countries.
The government has announced it will allow a number of people to attend public events such as football matches from this month in trials of a virus certification system.
But it has not made clear whether it will issue "virus passports" for international travel, an idea backed by many tourism-dependent countries and airlines but opposed by more than 70 UK MPs.
The UK has already given out more than 31 million first vaccine doses and over 5 million second doses.
The rollout has far outstripped popular holiday destinations such as France.
This has boosted the public mood after more than 126,000 people died from the virus in the UK, the highest toll in Europe.
From Thursday (8), those living in England will be able to access two free rapid virus tests per week, a measure aimed at curbing symptom-free virus spread.
This will make such tests far more accessible than currently. "More cases will be detected, breaking chains of transmission and saving lives," the government said Monday.
Health secretary Matt Hancock urged people to take up the offer, saying "getting back to normal hinges on us all getting tested regularly".
The lateral flow tests will be available at workplaces, community sites, schools and colleges. People will also be able to order delivery of the tests.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)