Under tight security this time he faces slander charges. In a major reset of us Foreign Policy, President Biden says america will end support for the war in yemen and rebuild its alliances. America is back. Diplomacy is back at the centre of our Foreign Policy. I take charge, id take charge read the Standing Orders and coming up this hour. Certainly not on mute how one Parish Council in the north of england has gone viral after a zoom meeting got a little out of hand. Hello and welcome if youre watching in the uk or around the world. From a week on monday uk residents returning from Coronavirus Hotspots abroad will have to quarantine in hotels for ten nights. Theres been mounting pressure for ministers to set out details of the scheme, which was first announced last week. The uk government has been accused of being too slow to act. Simonjones reports. A new destination for new arrivals from the most high risk countries. British nationals returning home from more than 30 covid hot spots will have to check into designated hotels at their own expense for ten days. It is to try to stop the spread of new variants of the virus which emerged in south africa and brazil. But labour says because Quarantine Hotels wont be introduced for another ten days, lives will be put at risk. It is utterly shambolic that this has been brought into effect on the 15th Of February. Thats over 50 days since the South African Strain was first discovered in this country and little wonder, frankly, that it reached our shores. It is nearly a year since Hotel Quarantining was introduced in other countries. We are in a race against time. Quarantine hotels are expected to be set up in ten locations near ports and airports. Hotel owners will be asked to provide rooms for more than 1000 new people every day with guests expected to pay around £80 per night. If anyone wants to leave their room for fresh air, they will be accompanied by security. The government insists it is working at pace. When you set up a new system of hotel based quarantine, we want to make sure that we get this right so that when people go to those hotels, the hotels are in place, the transport is in place. But it really is important to remember that it is already the case that everybody must quarantine for ten days. That is required by law. Discussions have already taken place with more than 60 companies in the hotel and travel industries. But some hotel owners say theyve been kept in the dark. The government says the uk has one of the toughest Border Regimes in the world but thousands of passengers will continue to arrive from hotspots before the new policy becomes a reality. Simon jones, bbc news. And i spoke to simonjones earlier a little outside heathrow airport. There are Numerous Hotels and the government is going to need to sign up government is going to need to sign up a lot of them if its to provide around 1000 hotel rooms each day, Tens Of Thousands of rooms needed over the next few months people arriving back here at airports like heathrow who have come from covid hotspots. Now some in the industry see this as a great opportunity because its not been a good time for Anyone Running a hotel because of the coronavirus pandemic. At other hotel owners have expressed their frustration, other hotel owners have expressed theirfrustration, they other hotel owners have expressed their frustration, they say theyve been trying to talk to the government for a number of days and even weeks about how this will work and theyve heard absolutely nothing back, until that was, they received a document yesterday outlining some of the requirements government will need if hotels are to sign to this. The government said today it still in the early stages of this, its got ten days to sort it out, its confident it will be a success but they tell us its early days. The announcement they tell us its early days. The announcement only they tell us its early days. The announcement only came out at one minute announcement only came out at one minute past announcement only came out at one minute past midnight this morning so its unsurprising that no one has formally its unsurprising that no one has formally signed up to this but the whole formally signed up to this but the whole point of this is that we give the hotels whole point of this is that we give the hotels notice because they will need to the hotels notice because they will need to change the way they operate, we are need to change the way they operate, we are asking them to do something very different, we are giving them time to very different, we are giving them time to make those adjustments and we are time to make those adjustments and we are also time to make those adjustments and we are also giving ourselves time to ensure we are also giving ourselves time to ensure that we are also giving ourselves time to ensure that this policy is effective by working with International Partners by working with International Partners and giving our Border Enforcement Officials the time they need to Enforcement Officials the time they need to prepare to make this work. Simon. Need to prepare to make this work. Simon. What need to prepare to make this work. Simon, what more do you know about who will be involved in ensuring that travellers coming in are in the hotels, they stay in the hotels unless they are accompanied outside for a bit of fresh air because its been interesting, talking to people involved in this game is in australia recently and theyve said the weak link in that where there have been problems has been to do with private Security Contractors not necessarily having all the training they required to run this. This is how we understand it will work. When passengers arrive at heathrow and they need to be taken to a hotel, they will be escorted there by Security Officers and then, when they are at the hotel, that will be overseen by Security Officers who are going to be organised by the government, rather than by the hotel so likely to be private security firms involved. People going to hotels will need to spend most of the ten nights in their rooms. They will only be allowed out if they are accompanied, we are told, by a security officer, if they need to go out for some fresh air or perhaps a cigarette so security is going to play a big role in this so that is going to be another challenge for the government, Notjust Finding the hotel beds that they need, but also finding enough staff to be able to run this efficiently and properly, and Security Staff as well who will ensure that no one can enter the hotel who should not be able to enter the hotel. In terms of how it will work, people come off and they are in their rooms, will get served three meals a day, they will have access to fruit and tea and coffee, they will get a knock at the door with their food, they will get a knock at the door with theirfood, it they will get a knock at the door with their food, it will be provided by room service so they dont have to go out and do any sort of mingling, they will also get a couple of coronavirus tests during their ten day stay. The government is in some criticism about how long its taken to implement this but also some concern that although its ten days away, its a lot for hotels to get their heads round in a short space of time. To get their heads round in a short space of time space of time. Simon jones at heathrow simon calder, the travel editor of the independent, is in central london. Simon, hello to you. Are you expecting a rush of people trying to get back to the uk ahead of this deadline . I get back to the uk ahead of this deadhne . ~ get back to the uk ahead of this deadline . ~. , deadline . I think the government most certainly deadline . I think the government most certainly is. Deadline . I think the government most certainly is. Because deadline . I think the government. Most certainly is. Because otherwise they would not have given such a long warning, you will recall that when countries have been put on the no go list you had anything from four hours to 35 hours warning, however people have been given ten days, the word from a number of Senior Travel Industry Sources is that effectively, the government is saying to people in these so called red list countries, remember the uae, portugal, much of Southern Africa and also south america, they are saying if you do not make it backin are saying if you do not make it back in the next ten days, then you are going to be staying in a hotel like this, i stress i have no idea if this hotel is one of those being considered but its 15 minutes from eurostar, half an hourfrom london city airport, 45 minutes from heathrow, so it might be, if you want to avoid having to pay 800 or thousand pounds, get back in quickly. Bear in mind, there are no direct flights from any of these places, there havent been for the last couple of weeks. 50 places, there havent been for the last couple of weeks. Places, there havent been for the last couple of weeks. So simon, in that case, last couple of weeks. So simon, in that case, because last couple of weeks. So simon, in that case, because there last couple of weeks. So simon, in that case, because there are last couple of weeks. So simon, in that case, because there are no i that case, because there are no direct flights from these red list locations and passengers are coming in via other routes, how are they going to be identified as people who need to be in Hotel Quarantine . Because theyve filled in a Passenger Locator form, this because theyve filled in a Passenger Locatorform, this is something everybody coming to do and it will ask you which countries have you been in in the past ten days and if it is any of those red list countries, well, at the moment, of course, you have to go straight home and self isolate, along with members of your household and from the 15th of your household and from the 15th of every comic you will have to self isolate, you will be put into a hotel like this. Of course, everybody is supposed to do everything right. If you are coming in from say, portugal, of course, you will be expected to declare that and many other countries, it will be perfectly obvious from the stamps on your passport, where you have been. Briefly, what more do we know about how this will actually work . If you arrive at one of these hotels, when we know which ones they are, how will the following ten days unfold . Well, it will be pretty dull, staying in your hotel room, you can always learn a language or make lots of skype because if you want to, keeping in touch with people. You will be able to go out and smoke, if you are accompanied by a Security Guard but thats about the only fresh air opportunity you will get and drinking, we still dont know, the australians basically say, mini bar only, the New Zealanders say you can have two litres of beer and a bottle of Wine Delivered to you everyday bottle of Wine Delivered to you eve da ,. ,. , i. Everyday 0k simon, thank you. Calder there. Energy prices will rise for millions of people across the uk in april, after the regulator 0fgem said the cap for default Domestic Energy deals would be raised to cover suppliers extra costs. 0fgem defended the decision, saying its in the interest of customers to start allowing Energy Companies to recover some of the costs of unpaid bills and avoid larger price hikes in the future. The price cap was introduced in 2019 and was designed to protect customers from being over charged. But this is the first rise in the cap so how will the decision affect customers . The price cap affects 11 million households who have never switched suppliers, or whose discounted deals have expired thats about half of all uk households. The typical gas and Electricity Customer on a standard or default tariff is likely to see their bill go up by £96 to £1,138 a year. The remainder are on so called fixed deals, which will not be affected. But there are warnings this could plunge more people into energy debt. Citizens advice said 2. 1 Million People are currently behind on their energy bills with 600,000 of those households getting into debt since the start of the pandemic. The change will also take effect at a time when the Furlough Scheme and the universal credit uplift is due to end, and people are spending more time at home. The ceo of 0fgem, Jonathan Brearly, said although it was a difficult time for households, they change was being implemented in april rather than october to spread out the increase across the year, while customers were using less energy. There are Companies Fighting for your business, my advice is to get into the market, you should save around £150 but equally, if you cannot do that, call up your supplier, not only ask about the best tariff but make sure you get the help you are entitled to. We appreciate this is a difficult time for customers and we want to make sure people have all the support they need to get through the coming months. Share they need to get through the coming months. �. , they need to get through the coming months. , , months. Are all Energy Companies offerina months. Are all Energy Companies offering customers months. Are all Energy Companies offering customers dead months. Are all Energy Companies | offering customers dead Repayment Plans if that is what they need . We set the plans if that is what they need . Set the rules and reset said to those companies you need to put someone struggling with their bills on affordable Repayment Plans and a Million People around the plans today but we know the problem make it bigger so we want people to get in touch with their suppliers and get the support they are entitled to and if you dont, complain to the company, go to the Energy Ombudsman but let us know and we will pursue those companies and enforce against them if necessary. Audrey gallagher from energy uk, which represents some of the big Energy Suppliers, said very few of the Companies Make a profit and it was the right decision for the long term. There is never going to be a good time to put bills up, obviously, this is particularly bad because we know its a difficult time for people, notjust increases in consumption youve already mentioned but the fact that we are seeing job losses, Everybody Knows somebody struggling as a result of the pandemic. But i think, i would hope people could be reassured that this is being done because its necessary, the regulator sets the price, its a fair price for customers. It also ensures companies can recoup their costs which allows them to keep operating so lets be clear, this is not about making profits and making more money, this is about allowing companies to continue to operate and supply us with gas and electricity. Very, very few Companies Make any profit at all, its down quite considerably, particularly since the price cap came in but the way the cap is set, its about a fair price, set at a level that allows companies to make very, very little profit and thats Efficient Companies, so if youre not an Efficient Company you will make a loss. If, like 0ctopus, you are a very Efficient Company you can price cheaper and thats a good thing for customers because it forces everybody in the market to become more efficient and offer cheaper prices so its good for competition. This cap, its set by the regulator and its set at a level that allows companies to recover costs but crucially, is a fair price for customers. Richard neudegg is head of regulation and compliance at the uks Price Comparison and switching website, uswitch. Richard, thank you very much for talking to us today at bbc news. Do you first of all accept that view that this is the right decision for the long term and that if prices did not go up now, they might go up more next winter . Next winter . Yes, there is no den int next winter . Yes, there is no denying that next winter . Yes, there is no denying that from next winter . Yes, there is no denying that from a next winter . Yes, there is no| denying that from a consumer perspective, to hear your bill is going up from april may be £100 if youre on a variable tariff is very difficult to swallow at an appallingly difficult time with everything thats happening with families and the financial crisis and the pandemic and Everything Else but unfortunately its inevitable that we are going to have a price cap, the cap has to reflect genuine costs incurred by Energy Suppliers and two big things have happened in wholesale costs, after the first lockdown, and this increase in bad debt. Those things have happened and are true. So itjus