Tuesday morning UK news briefing: Vaccine passports for European holidays

Also from this morning's Front Page newsletter: Map of UK hotspots for Indian Covid variant & clue found in Fred West hunt. Sign up below

British holidaymakers are expected to be given the green light by the EU to use "vaccine passports" to travel to the Continent.

EU ambassadors are tomorrow expected to sign off on a plan to allow fully vaccinated Britons to fly to Europe without having to undergo a Covid test or quarantine.

It would see member states adopt uniform entry requirements, giving fully vaccinated holidaymakers from low-risk countries such as Britain unrestricted entry to Spain, France, Italy and other popular destinations.

It comes after the first passengers flew to Portugal as the Government's travel ban was finally lifted as part of step 3 in the roadmap out of lockdown.

Our Big Green List Holiday Guide has everything you need to know about where you can go so far and what to do when you are there. These are the next countries likely to be added to the green list.

Blower
Cartoonist Blower's take on the new rules for foreign travel

Meanwhile, the Government is working on ways to improve take-up of the Covid vaccine among ethnic minority communities amid fears the spread of the new Indian variant could jeopardise plans to ease restrictions further and trigger local lockdowns.

Data suggests more than five million people in the UK now live in an area where the variant may be the most common strain of Covid. View a map of the hotposts.

And Matt sums up the feelings of many pub-goers with today’s cartoon.

Stop thinking like the EU, Lord Frost tells officials

British officials remain indoctrinated with EU thinking that must be eradicated to make Brexit Britain more competitive, Lord Frost said as he called for a bonfire of Brussels red tape. He told MPs on the European scrutiny committee a revolution was needed to "normalise" EU law still on the statute book and return them to common law traditions, which are "lighter touch" and less risk averse. Europe Editor James Crisp says the comments will fuel Brussels' anxiety about UK plans to diverge from EU rules. Sketchwriter Michael Deacon watched a parliamentary session that should have been gripping, but was soporifically dull.

'I will unlock Lord Mountbatten's secret papers'

How far would you go for the truth? Most biographers pride themselves on leaving no stone unturned in digging into the professional and personal lives of their subjects, but none can have gone to such extraordinary lengths as Andrew Lownie, for his book on the Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma. He has spent six years and £250,000 of his life savings fighting a gagging order to be allowed to see private diaries and letters. Peter Stanford explains how his quest continues.

At a glance: Coronavirus morning briefing

Also in the news: Today's other headlines

Clue unearthed | Police searching a cafe in Gloucester for one of Fred West's possible victims have confirmed they may have found evidence of human remains. Forensic specialists are exploring the cellar of a property in connection with the disappearance of 15-year-old Mary Bastholm, who was last seen alive in January 1968. Crime Correspondent Martin Evans covers new evidence detectives have now been passed.  

Around the world: Cyclone lashes India

​A cyclone has lashed India, with powerful winds and rain leaving at least 20 people dead and interrupting the vaccine programme the country urgently needs to get its Covid outbreak under control. Cyclone Tauktae left a trail of destruction along the coastal states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. View a gallery of more striking world pictures.

Rickshaws wade through a flooded street in Mumbai
Rickshaws wade through a flooded street in Mumbai Credit: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP  

Comment and analysis

Editor's choice: Features and arts

  1. Mid-life football | What playing five-a-side means to middle-aged men like Keir Starmer
  2. 'I scolded him for his choices' | Telegraph readers 'scambait' the scammers
  3. Dr Chris Van Tulleken 'Ultra-processed food for a month aged my body by 10 years'

Business and money briefing

Climate goals | The age of oil and gas exploration is over if the world is to bring global warming under control, the International Energy Agency has said. In a report on the path to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it says oil demand will need to drop by 75pc over the next three decades.  

Sport briefing

Kane bombshell | Harry Kane has told Tottenham Hotspur that he wants to leave the club this summer and ideally stay in the Premier League - sparking interest from Man City, Man United and Chelsea. Matt Law says it has fuelled a £150million transfer frenzy.  

Tonight's dinner

Languedoc pasta with mushrooms and fried egg | A thrifty recipe by Diana Henry for a weeknight supper. View the recipe and try our Cookbook newsletter.

And finally... for this morning's downtime

'Drugs with Diana Cooper; stalking Greta Garbo' | Writing Cecil Beaton's biography gave Hugo Vickers access to stars and royalty. In Malice in Wonderland, he recounts his social-climbing diaries

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