The UK government came under strong criticism on Sunday for not adding India to the ‘red list’ travel ban at the same time as Pakistan and Bangladesh in early April, which is feared as a major factor behind a rapid spike in cases of Covid-19’s B1.617.2 variant first identified in India.

Downing Street said it had taken ‘precautionary action’ to ban travel from India on April 23, six days before the B1.617 variant was put under investigation and two weeks before its highly transmissible subtype, B1.617.2, was labelled a Variant of Concern (VOC).