A minister has denied that the government acted too late in reintroducing travel restrictions after the discovery of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News, Kit Malthouse said: “We have to be agile, we have to recognise that all these things are impositions on people’s lives and lifestyles.

“There are obviously extra costs and they cause difficulty for the travel industry,” the policing minister said.

“We need to try and smooth that out as much as possible and be proportionate about our response.”

From tomorrow, pre-departure tests for all travellers are being brought back amid the spread of Omicron.

But one expert has warned the move is “a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted”.

Professor Mark Woolhouse, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies which advises the government on its pandemic response, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr that the new rules had come “too late” to make a “material difference”.

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