Online quarantine hotel booking system remains out of action, with less than three days to go

Travellers due to check in for 10-day isolation period from Monday

The online system for booking a quarantine hotel remains out of action, less than three days before travellers are due to check in for 10 days in isolation, Downing Street confirmed today.

A No 10 spokesman blamed unspecified “technical issues” for the failure of the website, which was intended to go live on Thursday.

A message on the official government page setting out requirements for travellers arriving from 33 “red list” countries said only: “Due to a minor technical issue, the link to the booking portal in this guidance will not be available until later today. Please return to this page later if you wish to make a booking.”

Under a tough new regime coming into effect from Monday, an estimated 1,000 UK residents a day travelling to England from countries of particular concern in relation to new variants of Covid-19 - including Portugal, Brazil, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates - will be required to book into a designated airport hotel on arrival.

In a 10-day stay, they will have to undertake two coronavirus tests.

But concerns were raised today after a government minister confirmed that they will be allowed to leave their rooms for exercise breaks, at the discretion of hotel staff who will not themselves face mandatory tests.

Official guidance states that travellers must book a quarantine package and pay the £1,750 charge - £2,400 for couples, with an extra £325 for each child - before boarding their journey to the UK.

Anyone who fails to book a quarantine package before arrival faces a fine of up to £4,000 on top of the cost of the hotel.

But the No10 spokesman today admitted that it was still not possible to make bookings via the online portal.

“Work is under way to fix a technical issue with the online booking portal,” he told a Westminster media briefing. “We expect the system to be back up and running today.”