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Scottish train passengers must put on face masks when they reach English border

A sign recommending people wear face coverings to help stop the spread of coronavirus is displayed in Waterloo station, London - AP
A sign recommending people wear face coverings to help stop the spread of coronavirus is displayed in Waterloo station, London - AP

Train and plane passengers travelling from Scotland to England will have to put on face masks when they reach the Border, under changes unveiled by Grant Shapps.

The Transport Secretary said face coverings will become mandatory on buses, trains, planes and ferries in England from Monday in the hope it helps curb the spread of coronavirus.

Mr Shapps warned commuters would not be allowed to board without a mask, saying it would be a "condition of travel" and they face a fine if they refuse to wear one.

But he said the new regime would not apply on cross-Border services while they were travelling in Scotland, as this was a devolved issue for the SNP government.

He insisted this would not be confusing for passengers but Sir Peter Hendy, the chairman of Network Rail, then appeared to contradict him by stating they should wear a mask for the entire journey.

Among the train operators who are affected are LNER, CrossCountry, TransPennine Express and the Caledonian Sleeper.

The announcement came only hours after Nicola Sturgeon said face coverings could become mandatory in Scotland amid reports that most people are ignoring guidance to wear them.

However, the Scottish Government said the change is only expected to be made north of the Border "at the point when people begin to get back to work and are using public transport in greater numbers."

While people in England are already being encouraged to return to work if they cannot perform their jobs at home, Ms Sturgeon's four-phase route map for easing the lockdown restrictions has adopted a much more cautious approach.

Offices are not scheduled to reopen until the third phase, which will not begin until July at the earliest, despite Scotland's daily death toll dropping to single figures for the first time since March 27.

Asked at the Downing Street briefing whether the face mask rule will apply on cross-Border services in Scotland, Mr Shapps said: "It's an England measure. We're speaking to the devolved administrations and they can decide whether they feel it's the right time for them to do the same. It's their call."

He said that normally the devolved administrations normally decide to "move together at roughly the same time" as the UK Government on such changes "so I don't think it will be terribly confusing."

However, he added: "We have a devolved set-up in this country, with four nations, who quite rightly can follow their own rules."

Grant Shapps and Chairman of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy attend the daily Covid-19 news conference at 10 Downing Street - Reuters
Grant Shapps and Chairman of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy attend the daily Covid-19 news conference at 10 Downing Street - Reuters

But, standing alongside him, Sir Peter said: "Our discussions with both the staff and our expectations of passengers probably don't vary.

"We should of course respect the sovereignty of the different nations but I would expect people who board a train in England to be wearing a mask when they go on the station and on the train.

"And I would expect the passengers to be wearing it when they get off wherever they were and that would be just sensible and it would be protective of both them and other people and courteous too."

Ms Sturgeon reacted to the announcement by tweeting that her government "already advises the use of face coverings in shops and public transport."

She said she is considering making them mandatory, subject to exemptions for health conditions such as asthma, but there was "no need to wait for that - please do it now."

The First Minister published official guidance at the end of April that Scots over the age of two should wear a cloth covering, such as a scarf or t-shirt, indoors where social distancing is difficult.

Rather than protecting the wearer, the First Minister said the main benefit was helping prevent asymptomatic carriers who do not realise they have the virus from passing it on.

But anecdotal evidence has suggested most people have ignored her advice, with Mike Russell, her Constitution Minister, admitting on Wednesday that he was the only person wearing a covering when he visited a petrol station.

Asked at her press briefing whether she could make face coverings mandatory, she said: "I think that is inevitable. I understand why some people may not want to wear face coverings.

“But there is a benefit to be had if you wear a face covering in an enclosed space where physical distancing is a bit more difficult."

Ms Sturgeon also disclosed nine more people had died  in Scotland from the virus over the previous 24 hours. The R number, measuring how many people are infected by each carrier, has dropped to between 0.7 to 0.9.

The Scottish Government also published a forecast estimating that the number of infectious people will drop from 20,500 on May 8 to 9,500 on Friday, before falling further to 8,000 by June 12.