Travel Covid tests should be capped at £40 and axed for those returning from low-risk countries, say Tory MPs

TRAVEL Covid tests should be capped at £40, senior Tory MPs have told the government.

Sun-seekers have been paying on average £75 for PCR tests, sparking calls to rein in the industry.

Henry Smith, the Tory chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation group said the Government should cap the price of PCR tests, and scrap them for holidaymakers returning from low-risk countries.

Writing in The Telegraph, he said: “The rationale for the testing regime looks increasingly dubious.

“Why not, instead, sample a random group of arrivals rather than require everyone to pay for tests frequently run by shoddy companies failing to deliver tests on time and guilty of making hugely misleading price claims?”

Former Cabinet minister David Davis said it would be “perfectly sensible” to cap test costs to prevent profiteering and axe the 20 per cent VAT charge on PCR tests.

And Paul Maynard, a former aviation minister, added: “Families should not have to pay more for tests than they do for flights.”