Evening Standard Comment: Let the Americans in

Amid the bonhomie in Cornwall during last month’s G7, Boris Johnson and Joe Biden talked of relaunching US-UK travel as part of a grand-sounding “New Atlantic Charter”. Sadly, the reality has not matched the rhetoric.

The Government is now reportedly considering easing travel restrictions for visitors from the US and EU. It should not delay. Both are filled with double-vaccinated, high-spending tourists and business people who we need to keep our recovery on track.

At present, neither British nor EU travellers are permitted to come to the US regardless of their vaccine status. This policy, introduced by Donald Trump at the outbreak of the pandemic, was restated by the White House on Monday.

Yet a fear of acting unilaterally must not prevent us from allowing US travellers into the country. In 2019, Americans made 4.5 million visits and spent more than £4 billion in Britain, with nearly 70 per cent visiting the capital. We need them back.

For Heathrow, for our hospitality and retail sectors, and our economy more widely.