Oral Answers to Questions

Alyn Smith Excerpts

Monday 11th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We go to Scotland—to a clean-shaven Alyn Smith.

[Alyn Smith (Stirling) (SNP) [V]]

Well spotted, Mr Speaker. It is good to see everyone.

I echo the shadow Foreign Secretary’s concern about the quarantine restrictions coming in. We need a lot more clarity on why they have not been brought in before now, and on what they are actually going to mean in practice for people who are making travel arrangements and for vulnerable people coming back and sharing concerns about their own health and the risk of passing the virus on to others. I would be grateful for more clarity on that.

Let me also pick up on the Foreign Secretary’s comments about the repatriation efforts to date. Now, I would not say that nothing has happened, but we need to acknowledge that the FCO’s response has been patchy and pretty stretched in parts. I have already called for an inquiry into this, so that we can learn lessons for the future. I think that we need to reiterate that point today, and would be grateful for an assurance that we will properly look at how the FCO has handled this situation. The expectations that were put upon the FCO by—

[Mr Speaker]

I think that the Foreign Secretary has got a grip of the question.