Exclusive
Former Brexit Secretary David Davis becomes latest Tory MP in favour of mandatory tests for UK arrivals from China
30 December 2022, 14:47 | Updated: 30 December 2022, 15:24
Former Brexit Secretary David Davis has become the latest, and most prominent, Conservative MP to come out in favour of mandatory tests for UK arrivals from or via China.
He told LBC it was a 'pretty sensible requirement' given that many of the UK's allies have adopted the policy of testing arrivals - this morning Spain became the second European country to implement the requirement.
The former Chairman of the Conservative Party went on to say that it was 'a small price to pay for a very significant advantage', adding: “China with a very large population of infected people is likely to be the probable source of the next variant... if somebody turns up with the next virulent variant from China, we want our processes in place, I think the government should certainly consider it, and ideally implement it.”
The health-data company Airfinity estimate about 9,000 people a day are dying of coronavirus in China - nearly doubling its estimate from a week ago – adding that they believe cumulative deaths in December have now reached 100,000.
READ MORE:Andrew Tate breaks silence after arrest in Romania and bizarre spat with Greta Thunberg
Some health experts have said that mandatory testing would not make a significant difference.
When pressed on this, Mr Davis said: “We're dealing with risks here, not knowledge and the risk of a new variant is more probable from China than anywhere else in the world - and we know they have a problem at the moment - so it's worth doing.”
Other senior Conservatives have also called on the government to take more action. Speaking to LBC, senior Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said: “We should be taking our own precautionary measures… any dithering leads us as a hostage to fortune.”
Mr Ellwood, who chairs the Defence Select Committee, also said that 'the later you leave any action, the less impact it will have’, adding ‘let’s get testing place for passengers, regardless of nationality, of all incoming flights from China'.
Ellwood also called for the government to convene its emergency committee.
“The big question is why hasn't COBRA [Cabinet Office Briefing Room] met... we need to take action and take it immediately,” he warned.
The government maintains that there are no plans at the moment to impose restrictions or mandatory testing for UK arrivals.
