China agrees to let UK fly home citizens trapped in Wuhan amid coronavirus outbreak
3 min read
The Foreign Secretary said China has agreed to let a plane full of UK nationals trapped in Wuhan fly home amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Beijing had been blocking the Government’s plan to bring Brits back from the locked-down province where the epidemic began.
But Dominic Raab said they have now received confirmation that a charter plane will be allowed to bring back around 200 UK citizens from Wuhan and neighbouring Hubei.
He said: “We are pleased to have confirmation from the Chinese authorities that the evacuation flight from Wuhan airport to the UK can depart at 5am local time on Friday 31 January.
“The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority.
“Our Embassy in Beijing and consular teams remain in close contact with British nationals in the region to ensure they have the latest information they need.”
It is thought the flight will land back at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, with the passengers then taken to an NHS facility for a 14-day quarantine period to make sure they did not contract coronavirus.
The plan to repatriate British nationals was revealed by Number 10 on Wednesday, after the death toll rose to 170 with confirmed cases now in every region of China.
But the plane was prevented from taking off after a spokesperson revealed they haven't “got the necessary clearances and we are working with the Chinese authorities on securing those".
Nick Gibb, an education minister, told Sky News on Thursday morning there were "some difficult issues that are being negotiated at very senior levels between the British Government and the Chinese Government".
And before his announcement Mr Raab had said officials in the Foreign Office had "been working tirelessly" to get the flight cleared for take-off.
Speaking at a Policy Exchange event in Westminster, he added: "We've been working with the Department of Health flat out, 24/7, to try and make sure we can identify British nationals in Wuhan, get them to a muster point and get them to a flight, a chartered flight in and out.
"We are hopeful now of doing that this evening. But, of course, this depends on the decisions taken by the Chinese government.
"I spoke to the Chinese foreign minister on Monday. We are working those through and we think - we hope - now that that will happen later this evening.
"I can guarantee and reassure the people who are out there and the families here that we are doing everything we can around the clock to make that happen."
So far there have been more than 130 suspected cases in the UK, but after testing none have come back positive.
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