The Guardian

More than a year after the first coronavirus case was detected in the UK,

the government finally catches up with other countries on travel restrictions.

I'm Jessica Elgott's deputy political editor of The Guardian,

and this is Politics Weekly.

Anyone who lies on the passenger locator form

and tries to conceal that they've been in a country on the red list

in the 10 days before arrival here will face a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

In response to the new Covid variants entering the UK,

the Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced in the comments yesterday

that travellers arriving from coronavirus hotspots

who refused to adhere to the new restrictions could face £10,000 fines

and jail sentences of up to 10 years.

The move might seem extreme, but given how long we've known about variants

cropping up since the new year, many are asking,

is it too little too late?

Over the last few weeks we've seen the UK government grapple with how many

restrictions it should copy and adopt from elsewhere in the world.

I wanted to hear how people looking from the outside in

feel the UK has handled its pandemic response,

and later on my colleagues from Europe and Asia tell me more.

Later on the community's Secretary Robert Generick has expected to announce

...