More Covid testing for UK arrivals due to be confirmed

Health secretary Matt Hancock is due to tell the Commons that passengers will need to be tested at their own expense on days two and eight after they arrive.

The rules will apply to those isolating at home as well as those coming from the 33 “red list” countries.

The requirement will be in addition to providing a negative test no more than 72 hours before travelling.

The clampdown is an attempt to identify new strains of the coronavirus.

The Department of Health and Social Care told Sky News: "Enhancing our testing regime to cover all arrivals while they isolate will provide a further level of protection and enable us to better track any new cases which might be brought into the country and give us even more opportunities to detect new variants.”

At Monday’s Downing Street briefing, England’s chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam warned against making “elaborate” holiday plans.

"The more elaborate your plans are for summer holidays, in terms of crossing borders, in terms of household mixing, given where we are now, I think we just have to say the more you are stepping into making guesses about the unknown at this point," he said.