France is on the UK’s amber-plus list, so people arriving in Britain from there are told to self-isolate. Mr Shapps said Joint Biosecurity Centre advisors are examining data to provide an update: “It’s only six days away... I wouldn’t expect anything in advance of that.” He said reports that Spain will be moved up to amber-plus were “speculation”. Some observers believe the Government may axe the quarantine exemption for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from Spain.

       Data analyst Tim White said 2.9 percent of people arriving in England from Spain between July 1 and 21 tested positive for Covid.

       He said: “More worryingly for Spain is that three percent of the samples had a variant not widespread in UK.” He said the decision on Spain’s status was a “huge call” for Mr Shapps as it is the top UK holiday destination.

       But Paul Charles, of travel consultancy The PC Agency, believes Spain’s status will stay unchanged in the short term as ministers want to “move away from amber-plus” after criticism at the creation of the tier.

       He said cases are “flatlining...and starting to reduce a little”.