Nicola Sturgeon examining Wales-style cross-border travel ban if Boris Johnson refuses to act

Nicola Sturgeon is examining a travel ban between Scotland and the north of England after backing draconian cross-Border restrictions unveiled by the Welsh First Minister.

Ms Sturgeon said she "fully" supported a decision by Mark Drakeford to ban people from Covid hotspots in the rest of the UK travelling to Wales from 6pm on Friday.

In an extraordinary intervention, Mr Drakeford said he will instruct police to issue fixed penalty notices, and the Welsh people to inform on visitors.

Ms Sturgeon urged Boris Johnson to urgently chair a meeting to strike a four nations deal "on travel restrictions where necessary from high prevalence areas in one UK nation to lower prevalence in others".

But she warned that her government "will also take whatever action we consider necessary" if he failed to act. It is understood her government was considering a similar ban and urgent legal advice.

The move would currently mean a ban on travel to Scotland from the north of England, where Covid-19 cases have skyrocketed. Much of the region is in the top two tiers of the Prime Minister's new three-level lockdown system.

Manchester, Lancashire and the North East could all join Liverpool in the highest tier as soon as Thursday after ministers met on Wednesday night to discuss their fate, with Government sources also saying London could be moved into the middle tier by Friday.

Ms Sturgeon also warned Scots against travel to the areas in the top two tiers of England during the October holidays and singled out Blackpool for special attention.

She warned the Lancashire holiday town is "now associated with a large and growing number of Covid cases in Scotland" and urged people to stay away.

But she faced a backlash from Blackpool's civic leaders, who said its Covid-19 rate of 218 cases per 100,000 people is one of the lowest in the North West of England and parts of Scotland.

Blackpool Council said "stringent Covid secure measures" were in place, while local hoteliers said Ms Sturgeon singling out the town was "a real kick in the teeth".

The row broke out as Scotland recorded a record 1,429 cases, with 16.4 per cent of people testing positive. A further 15 deaths were registered.

Mr Drakeford said he was taking action after the Prime Minister twice failed to respond to his requests to make advisory travel guidance in English coronavirus hotspots mandatory. He said he was "determined to keep Wales safe".

Under new regulations being prepared by Welsh ministers, people living in areas with a high-prevalence of coronavirus in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be able to travel to Wales for the time being.

In the face of scepticism from Downing Street, he told Times Radio: "It is absolutely possible to enforce it. The Welsh population is very nervous and wary. Your difficulties aren't over if you evade the police."

A Senedd source said: “Holidays and going to see your families won’t be a reasonable excuse to break the rules."

Mr Drakeford said much of Wales was subject to local restrictions that mean people in those areas are already barred from travel beyond their county boundary without a reasonable excuse, meaning they cannot go to England.

Ms Sturgeon said she backed his demand for a deal on preventing people in Covid hotspots travelling to any of the other three home nations and "I’ll be writing to the Prime Minister today to seek urgent talks on that issue."

Responding to his announcement of a travel ban, she tweeted: "Fully support @fmwales on this. These are public health decisions, and nothing to do with constitutional or political debates."

Speaking at her daily briefing, she said: "If we think putting formal travel restrictions in place is necessary we will do that and I don't rule that out and rule anything out.

"But obviously you know the police cannot stop everybody on the roads to check whether they're travelling for essential purposes." She argued that "what we do voluntarily" would determine whether "we're going to succeed or fail."

Ms Sturgeon said "many of us have happy childhood memories of going to see the Blackpool illuminations" at this time of year but it has been classed by the UK Government as a "high risk area".

She said around 180 Scots have tested positive for the virus in the past month after travelling to the seaside town. An incident management team had been set up to deal with those who have visited the town.

"If you were thinking about going to Blackpool and haven't booked yet then please do not go this year," she said after warning that "quite a lot" of cases had been linked to coach trips.

"Even more specifically, because we know this is an issue and I want to be very clear about this, do not travel to Blackpool this weekend to watch the Old Firm match in a pub."

But Dr Arif Rajpura, Blackpool Council’s director of public health, argued the town's coronavirus prevalence rates were relatively low.

He said: "Blackpool has long had an association with visitors from Scotland, in excess of one million visitors from Scotland enjoy Blackpool and all its attractions every year."

Claire Smith of the StayBlackpool group of hoteliers said Scottish visitors were "absolutely critical to the town's success".

She said: "It's demoralising when so many people have worked so hard to make their product safe. It's a real kick in the teeth when a town is mentioned so specifically."

A spokesman for Blackpool Council said there had not been outbreaks in the local tourism industry, or in the rest of the UK which had been linked back to the town.

Jane Cole, vice-president of the North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, insisted “Blackpool has stringent Covid secure measures in place” and said the council “regularly visits its hotels, venues and attractions on a regular basis to ensure all are Covid compliant”.