BOTH the UK and Scottish governments have been accused of “shambolic” decision-making after giving holidaymakers less than six hours' notice that the Spanish travel quarantine was being reintroduced from Sunday. 

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab refused to apologise for reimposing the requirement on travellers arriving from Spain just 15 days after lifting it south of the border.

He said “swift, decisive action” was taken after a rise in Covid cases in Spain, with more than 900 new cases recorded on Friday.

“We can't make apologies for doing so," Mr Raab said.

The Saturday night U-turn was even more dramatic in Scotland, where the requirement for travellers from Spain to stay at home for two weeks was only lifted last Thursday.

At the time, the Scottish Government, which had been criticised for keeping the quarantine rule longer than England, said it had been based on “a thorough review of infection prevalence rates” on the mainland and Spanish islands.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie wrote to Nicola Sturgeon demanding she publish the evidence used to justify the “shambolic” decision.

Labour shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth also called the UK Government’s handling of the decision “frankly shambolic” and called for financial support for those forced to shut themselves away after returning home.

Among those caught out was the UK Transport Secretary Grant Schapps, who ignored Boris Johnson’s plea for people to take a staycation, and went to Spain on Saturday. 

The UK’s biggest tour operator, Tui, has cancelled all mainland Spanish holidays until August 9.

The row coincided with the Scottish Government announcing there had been no confirmed Covid deaths in Scotland for 10 days, the longest such period since the outbreak began.

Another four people were confirmed as having tested positive for the virus, down from the 27 announced on Saturday, although the figure typically dips on a Sunday as the number of tests falls.

Appearing on Sky News’s Sophie Ridge on Sunday, Mr Raab defended the UK Government’s actions.

He said: “The data we got was on the Friday, it showed a big jump right across mainland Spain.

"That was then assessed yesterday afternoon and we took the decision as swiftly as we could and we can't make apologies for doing so."

Mr Raab added: "We've always said, as we come through the lockdown, we would need to take targeted measures.

"If we can't do that, the risk is the virus gets back hold in the UK, the damage to the economy of a second lockdown and I think a blow to public confidence.

"So, yes, these measures are decisive and swift and, as a result of that, inconvenient for those going through them ... but they are absolutely necessary."

Mr Rennie wrote to Nicola Sturgeon, who last week warned restrictions might have to be reimposed on holidaymakers, asking to see the basis for the change.

Reminding the FM he had questioned dropping the quarantine restriction, given Spain's rising case numbers, he said: "It is little surprise that you were obliged to reverse that decision on Saturday evening. 

"This is now a shambolic situation and there is a big question as to how Scottish ministers have made such poor-quality decisions.

"I must ask again: why did you release the quarantine from Spain when the infection rate was many times higher than when you imposed the quarantine? 

"If it was not safe to lift the quarantine measures three weeks ago, how had it been judged safe to do so earlier this week?"

He added: "The Justice Secretary said there was a thorough review. It is imperative that this review is published without delay."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "Our overriding priority is public safety and continuing to suppress the virus. Where evidence emerges that causes concern - as it has done in Spain - we must act quickly.

"The situation with coronavirus around the world can change rapidly and the First Minister has advised that a cautious approach should be taken to foreign travel because of that unpredictability. 

"We have been clear that we may require to remove a country from the list of places exempt from quarantine requirements should the virus show a resurgence."

Those breaking the quarantine in Scotland can by fined £480 and up to £1000 in the rest of the UK.

Joanne Dooey, president of the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association, said public health was the top priority, but questioned why the decision to re-impose the self isolation rule was taken late on a Saturday.

She told BBC Scotland Saturday was the busiest time for flights to Spain and some travel agents worked through the night to get information to their customers.

She said: “The biggest confusion here is why we got a four-hour window on a Saturday evening to say that quarantine was going into place at midnight.

"This must have been discussed previously. Why wasn't it brought into place on Friday?" 

Rob Griggs of Airlines UK said it was a "big blow" to the aviation sector.

BA said the decision had thrown thousands of Britons’ travel plans into chaos and described it as “sadly yet another blow for British holidaymakers” and a “troubled aviation industry”.

Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said Spain had its outbreaks “perfectly controlled” and was in talks with the UK to exempt the Canary Islands and the Balearics from the quarantine, as there are far fewer cases there.