Dan Wootton: One thing I refuse to accept as a result of this pandemic is that travel becomes only the domain of the rich, wealthy and famous once more

PCR Tests

The PCR travel testing scam must end.

This is becoming a rip off of close to criminal proportions.

It’s making it almost impossible for hardworking families to book trips overseas.

And that’s going to cause continued decimation for the tourism industry, which is desperately trying to come through this torrid past 18 months.

If you’re like most people and haven’t tried to go overseas this year, here’s what’s going down: The government insists that travellers book a PCR test for day two of their return to the UK.

But the issue is they will not allow travellers to use the tests provided for free by the NHS.

So private companies have seen an opportunity to rip off Brits to epic proportions, promising cheap tests online and then saying only extortionate options are available once you actually go to book.

The Health Secretary is now under intense pressure to legally cap the costs of tests to £40 in a bid to help protect the return of the travel industry.

So far Sajid Javid has asked the Competition and Markets Authority to rapidly review the situation, but they’re going to take at least a month, which isn’t good enough.

As the Transport Committee Chairman Huw Merriman told The Times: “The high cost, poor quality and lack of sequencing from PCR tests needs to be urgently addressed by the Government. They are an unnecessary barrier to affordable international travel…we simply cannot wait a month to fix this inflated and broken market.”

One thing I refuse to accept as a result of this pandemic is that travel becomes only the domain of the rich, wealthy and famous once more.

But that’s the worrying direction we’re currently heading.

The testing from green and amber countries should be axed altogether – and if a test is needed for any reason the maximum cost should be £40.

Prince Andrew

Is the net tightening on Prince Andrew?

The decision for Virginia Roberts to sue the Duke of York in a New York court has put intense pressure on the Royal Family – and its senior members are increasingly concerned about the damage it’s doing to the monarchy.

As I revealed in my column for the MailOnline this week: “There is growing outrage from the first and second in line to the throne, Prince Charles and William, about the devastating impact the Duke of York's personal conduct in regards to his friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has had on the institution.”

That reporting was followed up by The Times and the Daily Mail newspapers today with further stories of unease from Charles about the damage his brother’s alleged behaviour is causing.

That strain is only going to increase after the Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick revealed her officers are yet again reviewing the Prince Andrew case and are open to working with international authorities, which you would presume includes the FBI.

There’s only one man who could put an end to the growing stench around this royal scandal.

That man is Prince Andrew.

He vowed to help the authorities “if required”.

It is now required.

Grow some balls and go to New York to assist the FBI. It doesn’t matter how long it takes.

Andrew has always strenuously denied any allegations of impropriety, including a sexual relationship with Roberts.

So what does he have to fear if he has nothing to hide?

Prince Charles has been spotted heading to Balmoral today, where Andrew is believed to be staying with Fergie and the Queen.

Let’s hope he can talk some sense into his younger brother whose silence shames the institution.

China

The Chinese communist government just gets more despicable by the day.

We’ve learned the authoritarian country’s Culture Ministry has now banned karaoke songs that they believe “endanger national security”.

No doubt its yet another attempt to try and stop the resistance movement in Hong Kong which resonates with songs like the freedom anthem Do You Hear the People Sing? from Les Misérables.

How long will most western governments continue to turn a blind eye to this totalitarian regime?

Piers Morgan and Good Morning Britain

How do you solve a problem like replacing Piers Morgan when your ratings plummet by the day?

The pathetically woke bosses at ITV clearly have no idea, based on their latest idea to host the struggling Good Morning Britain.

They’ve signed up the biggest virtue signaller in Britain Richard Bacon, a member of the London chattering classes so out of touch with real folk his biggest concern seems to be what table he gets at The Ivy.

With choices like that, the ratings for GMB will continue to sink