Looks like a 3 point turn on quarantine

[Llwyd]

He probably asked Dom if it was OK!

Maybe even the mayor of Leicester or Niall Ferguson and, possibly, one or two others now forgotten about.
 

[groom]

The FCO has advised against all but essential travel. Therefore travel insurance companies will not provide cover. This seems to indicate that it is serious advice.

As Greensleeves said I very much doubt that Stanley Johnson deals with all the letting and cleaning himself, he obviously has someone who goes in between lets to clean it, so why did he suddenly feel the need to go?

It was made clear by insurance companies that if you travelled against the Foreign Office advice, your insurance would be invalid. So either Stanley Johnson chose to ignore this, or knew that if anything happened his son would get him home!

I bet the people of Leicester, who now face two more weeks of lockdown with shops and schools closed again, were pleased to read this. 

[sugarfizzle]

So, the excuse for the trip to Greece (via Bulgaria, since we are not allowed to travel from Britain to Greece because of our ineptitude in dealing with the pandemic) is to get the property ready to rent out to holiday-makers.  I am picturing here Johnson Snr with his sleeves rolled up, scrubbing the floors, brushing away the cobwebs,  wielding the toilet brush, doing a bit of light DIY.  Let's face it, that's as likely as driving from Durham to Barnard Castle to test your eye-sight isn't it?  But I'm sure Nick will have some perfectly good reason why this kind of 'rules are only for the little people' attitude is acceptable.

Love it!

Margaret

[Nick_Ips]

But I'm sure Nick will have some perfectly good reason why this kind of 'rules are only for the little people' attitude is acceptable.

No "excuse" was required.  And why would I offer such a reason?  No rules were broken, save for the ones that some people have imagined exist.

If you disagree, then prove it with evidence, rather than slurs.

Even the BBC and Guardian have realised this is a non-story.  If you want to read about it on their websites you need to go hunting for it.

One of my close friends travelled to France and back during lockdown. Perhaps you'd like to extend your criticism to include them as well?

[Nick_Ips]

As Greensleeves said I very much doubt that Stanley Johnson deals with all the letting and cleaning himself, he obviously has someone who goes in between lets to clean it, so why did he suddenly feel the need to go?

He is a businessman and property owner. The Greek authorities accepted his need to travel to a property he owns. He did so lawfully.

In what way are your assumptions about whether he does his own cleaning relevant to the lawfulness of his trip?

It was made clear by insurance companies that if you travelled against the Foreign Office advice, your insurance would be invalid. So either Stanley Johnson chose to ignore this, or knew that if anything happened his son would get him home!

I would imagine a family who are all high net worth individuals are unlikely to be reliant on travel insurance to get them home in the event their flight is cancelled.

I bet the people of Leicester, who now face two more weeks of lockdown with shops and schools closed again, were pleased to read this.

Neither are they likely to be pleased to read about all the people heading off to the pub and doing other activities this weekend. Perhaps they will still be in lockdown when everyone is jetting off on holiday.

But why should Stanley Johnson not exercise his lawful right to travel to Greece just in case some residents of Leicester are displeased about it?

[LizzieL]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors#travel-corridors-countries-and-territories-exemption-list

The exemption list.

[sugarfizzle]

So looks like Mr Johnson senior may have to isolate for two weeks when he gets back. These were the rules when he went to Greece, so he should be prepared for this, but was possibly hoping that as Greece was likely to be exempt, he would also be exempt from isolating.

As it stands, the advice is is clear - "From 10 July 2020, unless they have visited or stopped in any other country or territory in the preceding 14 days, passengers arriving from the following countries and territories will not be required to self-isolate on arrival into England."

He is reported to have stopped in Bulgaria on the way to Greece. Bulgaria is not on the list.

Mind you, he could always extend his stay in Greece to two weeks to avoid the necessity of self isolation.

Regards Margaret

[heywood]

The invitation from the Treasury to raise our glasses tomorrow and enjoy a drink was removed after criticism.
Today we are told that the pubs can open from 6am tomorrow to stop some opening at 12.01 am.
The Prime Minister has announced a moment of remembrance tomorrow for those who have died during the pandemic.

[Nick_Ips]

So looks like Mr Johnson senior may have to isolate for two weeks when he gets back. These were the rules when he went to Greece, so he should be prepared for this, but was possibly hoping that as Greece was likely to be exempt, he would also be exempt from isolating.

As it stands, the advice is is clear - "From 10 July 2020, unless they have visited or stopped in any other country or territory in the preceding 14 days, passengers arriving from the following countries and territories will not be required to self-isolate on arrival into England."

If he returns directly from Greece on 15 July he won't need to self-isolate.

If he returns directly from Greece on the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th or 14th it appears he would only need to isolate until the 15th.

But in fact the advice that you quote isn't that clear. It doesn't clarify whether someone returning on the 9th would have to complete a full 14-day self-isolation, or whether that expires on the 10th. Logic would suggest the latter, but the quote seems to suggest the former.

It also doesn't explain whether "been to" or "stopped" includes people who have only transited through an airport and/or people who have been on an aircraft or ship that has "stopped" in a non-exempt country but passengers have not embarked or disembarked.