The fatal flaw in the Covid travel restrictions

Here are two Covid questions, thrown up by the rate at which the Indian variant is infecting parts of the UK.

First, does it show that the traffic light system, which was designed to prevent the UK from importing new strains and variants from abroad, is unfit for purpose? The delay of one to two weeks in moving India from the amber to red category – which I’ve been banging on about for a month – is relevant, and looks like a serious government mistake.

But isn’t there a more fundamental flaw in the system? Ministers keep pointing out that with India in the amber category the UK should have been protected – because passengers from India were supposed to quarantine at home for 10 days and take tests on days two and eight.

We weren’t protected though, were we?

So either home quarantine is intrinsically leaky, or those passengers ignored tests and quarantine.