Ministers scurrying as rats run riot in £1,750 quarantine hotel
Ministers have been urged to shut down a rat-infested quarantine hotel where travellers say they have been forced to move rooms to escape the rodents.
MPs have accused the Government of ripping off travellers who paid £1,750 to stay in the Mercure London Heathrow hotel in west London.
Rachael Maskell MP said she had been contacted by a constituent who said he had been forced to move rooms twice after being plagued by rats during his stay.
The Mecure London Healthrow quarantine hotel is rat infested. My constituent has already moved rooms twice; others too. Rats everywhere = a public health risk. Government made him pay £1750. Private profit, not public safety. #refundnow Shut the place down @sajidjavid @PHE_uk
— 💙Rachael Maskell MP (@RachaelMaskell) August 3, 2021
She claimed poor maintenance and lack of hygiene were causing problems for travellers, who said they were effectively trapped in their rooms with the rats because they were not allowed to leave under quarantine rules.
“My constituent contacted me after the first rat was found. Once you think, ‘This is really unpleasant and unfortunate’,” said Ms Maskell.
“He got a room move as a result of that but then found that there was a second rat in this new room he was in. He believes they were getting in through the pipe system.
“As he was moving room, other residents were also being moved and staff were saying there were rats everywhere in the hotel.
“These people are having to eat in their rooms. The food is pretty inedible so I guess it is ending up in the bins. They are kept in their rooms so they don’t have anywhere else to go.
“People are having to pay extortionate amounts to stay in these conditions – that’s completely unacceptable.”
A spokesman for the Mercure London Heathrow said: “We have made direct contact with the guest in question and are investigating the issues raised by them. We take complaints such as this very seriously.
“The safety of all our guests and staff members is of the upmost importance to us and continues to be our number one focus.
“The hotel continues to abide by all quarantine guidelines, cleaning protocols and safety measures as set out by the Government.”
The company later said: "An external pest control professional has checked the hotel and concluded no evidence of pest activity. We take complaints such as this very seriously.
"The safety of all our guests and staff members is of the upmost importance to us and continues to be our number one focus. The hotel continues to abide by all quarantine guidelines, cleaning protocols and safety measures as set out by the Government."
A spokesperson for the Government said: “Guests should raise any issues directly with the hotel in the first instance, and we expect them to do their utmost to address any concerns.
“Our top priority has always been protecting the public and the robust border and testing regime we have in place is helping minimise the risk of new variants coming into the UK.”
