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A cross-party group of MPs say the new border regime, which will require travellers to self-isolate for two weeks from June 8, is “unworkable, ill thought out and damaging”. The 40 MPs includes a group of 22 Tory MPs, most notably former Travel Secretary Chris Grayling and six former ministers, who have urged the prime minister to rethink his actions to fight COVID-19.

It comes as the PM faces another furious rebellion from within his own party over the response to the Dominic Cummings crisis.

Tory MP Henry Smith, chairman of the rebel group, told the Daily Mail: “The Government should abandon quarantine as soon as possible.

“If we were ever going to have a blanket quarantine policy, it should have come in two or three months ago – we should be coming out of it now, not going into it.”

The group includes immigration minister Caroline Nokes, former Brexit minister Steve Baker, ex-transport and health minister Stephen Hammond, ex-aviation minister Paul Maynard, former transport minister Nus Ghani, ex-health minister Philip Dunne and Mr Johnson’s former chief business advisor Andrew Griffiths MP.

The Government is also under pressure by furious travel companies who have accused them of being “woefully slow” in its support for the travel industry,

Travel bosses have also urged the Home Secretary to scrap plans to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on people arriving in the UK due to the coronavirus.

More than 70 company heads have co-signed a letter to Priti Patel over the announcement last week and urged the Government to switch from protection mode in the face of the Covid-19 crisis to economic recovery.

The letter says: “The very last thing the travel industry needs is a mandatory quarantine imposed on all arriving passengers which will deter foreign visitors from coming here, deter UK visitors from travelling abroad and, most likely, cause other countries to impose reciprocal quarantine requirements on British visitors, as France has already announced.

“Many people urged the government to impose quarantine regulations during the early phases of COVID-19. Instead, no action was taken and flights from infected countries were allowed to land, disgorging thousands of potentially affected passengers into the wider community.

“COVID-19 is now under control and we commend the government for its handling of what was an extraordinary and unprecedented situation.

“However, the economic cost of the government’s action is yet to be seen, apart from the early indicators which paint a grim picture.”

It comes after Mr Johnson said travellers may be exempt from a 14-day quarantine after returning from countries where the rate of coronavirus infection is “at least as good” as that in the UK.

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The Prime Minister suggested that so-called “air bridges” to allow quarantine-free travel could be introduced from the end of next month, if agreements are reached with other countries.

Appearing before the Commons Liaison Committee on Wednesday, Mr Johnson was asked about “air bridges” by Huw Merriman, the Tory chairman of the transport select committee.

He said: “Many people have commented that a sensible regime would look at the countries and their R rate and if it’s below ours, then there should be no need for quarantine.

“Whilst that may not be possible for June 8, will that be possible for the next three week period which is June 29, to allow those buying cheaper flights for their summer holidays, which have gone on sale today, to be removed from the threat of quarantine?”

Mr Johnson replied: “Yes, absolutely – we want to make sure we use the three-week reviews to be sensible – we want to drive the R down as fast as we can in this country and to have as sensible a quarantine scheme as possible and to keep flows as generous as we can.”

Asked what would have to change between now and June 29 for “air bridges” to be accepted, the prime minister said: “We will have to agree them with the other countries concerned but we will also have to make progress in tackling the disease, and we will have to have evidence that the other countries are in at least as good a position as we are.”

Mr Johnson was also asked during the session how quarantining people would not slow down the economic recovery from the pandemic.

The PM said: “I hope it will not retard the recovery of the economy by helping to prevent reinfection which could lead to a second outbreak and the R going over one again in such a way as to do serious economic damage, to necessitate another lockdown.”

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