Government now warns against non-essential travel to Balearic and Canary Islands

The move comes after Downing Street warned "no travel is risk-free" after a coronavirus quarantine requirement for people arriving in the UK from Spain was reintroduced.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) updated its travel advice for visits to Spain, saying: "The FCO advise against all non-essential travel to Spain, including the Balearic and Canary Islands, based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks in the country."

An FCO spokesman said: "We have considered the overall situation for British nationals travelling to and from the Balearic and Canary Islands, including the impact of the requirement to self-isolate on return to the UK, and concluded that we should advise British nationals against all non-essential travel to the whole of Spain."

The announcement came after the Prime Minister's official spokesman said decisions on border measures and travel advice "can be changed rapidly if necessary to help stop the spread of the disease".

He went on: "Unfortunately no travel is risk-free during this pandemic and disruption is possible and so anyone travelling abroad should be aware that our travel advice and exemption list is under constant review as we monitor the international situation."

The decision comes after the Spanish government said it was in talks with the UK about excluding the Balearic and Canary Islands from its quarantine measures.

But Health Minister Lord Bethell said: "Within individual countries there is no way for us to control intra-country transport, it is therefore very difficult and challenging to have a regional exemption list, and that is why we've not been able to give exemptions to the Balearics."