Boris Johnson’s failure to control international travel has been exposed by Yvette Cooper

I have sometimes wondered what might have happened if the senior Labour backbencher had run for the party leadership in 2010, writes John Rentoul

Cooper was the only MP who made the PM look really uncomfortable (Getty Images)

Yvette Cooper is the new Marcus Rashford. That is, she is the latest to seize the title of “the real leader of the opposition”. This is unfair on Keir Starmer, and indeed on Rashford himself, both of whom are doing a good job in forcing the government to provide adequate food to children in need. 

But the only time when Boris Johnson came unstuck yesterday during his appearance in front of the Commons Liaison Committee was when Cooper, chair of the home affairs select committee, asked him an obvious question about travel restrictions. 

The prime minister said he was “taking steps” to restrict arrivals from Brazil and South Africa, where new variants of coronavirus have emerged, and she said: “What are those steps?” When Johnson blethered in reply, she repeated the question. 

In two and three quarter hours of parliamentary scrutiny yesterday, at prime minister’s questions and the liaison committee, it was the only time he looked flustered. 

Cooper pointed out that one new measure, to require a negative coronavirus test of all new arrivals, wouldn’t be coming into effect until Friday, and last night Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, sneaked out a late announcement that this new requirement had been postponed. 

Further confusion reigned this morning as Victoria Atkins, the home office minister, said the new rule would come into effect on Friday after all, but that “there will be a grace period in terms of fines being issued over the weekend”.

Meanwhile, there is still no sign of an emergency ban on flights from Brazil, about which the government was warned four days ago. And, as Cooper pointed out, it is still possible to travel from South Africa to the UK via a hub such as Dubai, with no enforcement on arrival – and if arrivals do isolate themselves when they get to their UK destination that will often be after travelling by public transport to get there. This would no doubt also be a problem with any ban on flights from Brazil and its South American neighbours. 

She pointed out the deficiencies of the 10-day quarantine requirement for countries not on the safe list, and if she had had more time, she could have asked important questions about why the government refuses to require quarantine in airport hotels. 

That would be difficult and expensive for all arrivals, although Australia and New Zealand have done it (Norway and Israel tried it but have since relaxed the rules). But it would seem a possible solution for arrivals from high-risk countries, or for people who cannot get a test before they set off – which seems to be the problem with requiring negative tests. 

“You give the impression each time that you just delay all of the difficult, uncomfortable decisions until the last possible minute,” Cooper told the prime minister. 

I have sometimes wondered what might have happened if Cooper had run for the Labour leadership in 2010 instead of Ed Balls, her husband. I think she would have picked up a lot of Ed Miliband’s vote and would probably have beaten David. 

Would that have made a difference to the politics of the last decade? Who knows, but yesterday’s discomfiting of the prime minister made me wonder again.