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HMA Hugh Elliott Speaking to BayRadio on Covid-19 Coronavirus and Advice for British Expats 18-03-20
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Jan 13, 2025
Her Majesty's Ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliott spoke live with Kal earlier today with up to date information for British Expats living in Spain, and for those visitors that are still to make their way back to the UK. We thank him and his staff for their time and all the work being done during this extraordinary period. Stay safe and keep listening to www.bayradio.fm for the very latest and be sure to follow our Facebook page www.facebook.com/BayRadioInSpain
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this is Bay Radio Bay radio for you on a
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Wednesday afternoon and joining us now
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on the phone is British ambassador to
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Spain Huw Elliot we appreciate you
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making the time to speak to us this
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afternoon ambassador when we spoke a few
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months ago Brax it looked like the
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biggest challenge for all of us in the
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past week that's changed the most
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dramatic of circumstances what message
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do you have for expats and holidaymakers
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here in Spain
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you're quite right it certainly has the
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pandemic is quite clearly our biggest
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challenge right now and the message I'd
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have is that no we here my entire
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network in Spain of embassy and
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consulates the government back home
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we're working very closely with the
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Spanish government and the Spanish
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authorities and in particular also for
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those who are looking to go home working
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with the travel companies and the
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airlines to try to make sure that we get
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British citizens where they want to be
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safe and sound and my second message
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would be of course we have the state of
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emergency v SW anima which has been
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declared on Saturday night Saturday and
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so while that remains in force and it
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looks like it's set to be enforced for
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some time is really important that
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anybody in Spain sticks to the rules I'm
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sitting here at home working from home
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we've got very clear restrictions on
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movement allowed to go out for what we
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don't I hope that's all well understood
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we can talk about that if you want but
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everybody's safety for everybody's
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health is really important that we beat
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this pandemic together I'm gonna go
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first to what you've just said now
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initially we knew the lockdown was going
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to be 15 days there are some rooms
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already circulating today that it could
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well be to the 12th of April I know you
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said that's possible that that would be
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extended as a decision be made on that
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yet no I don't think that any decision
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has been made I think though if you look
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around the the the course of the
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epidemic in different countries it looks
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to be something that is not going to be
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sorted out in the two weeks that the
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initial
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period of the state of emergency has
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been declared for I think we can all
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probably see that and I know that some
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politicians in Spain have already made
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clear for example some opposition
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parties that they would support the
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extension of the state of emergency
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because it has to go to Congress to be
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extended for the extension to remain in
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force which were they of course after
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two weeks after the first two-week
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period and do you know when we're
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expecting a decision on that will that
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be later rather than earlier sorry if
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you were to say at this stage right if
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you were to say at this stage but our
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working assumption at the moment you
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know we can all speculate but our
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working assumption is that we are we're
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going to be in this position for several
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weeks at least any specific instructions
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ambassador for our large number of
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pensioners here of course as we know the
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elderly at most risk from this
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coronavirus strain so absolutely and
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it's we've all seen the the figures and
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we know that it is particularly risky
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for those who are older so it's all the
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more important that those in that
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category do follow the rules to stay at
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home except if you have to go around for
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shopping or essential items and look
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after yourselves and that all of us look
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after each other remotely as it has to
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be these days so we're all learning a
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little bit about giving ourselves both
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there's some moral support from a
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distance because we can't actually be
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together so I think it's particularly
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important for those in those of us who
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are a bit older to to pay particular
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attention to looking after yourselves
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follow the rules because they're all
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about keeping you safe
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I know ambassador that you're very
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grateful to the way that charities on in
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the expat community help people and
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throughout the normal period of time a
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lot of them are stepping up right now
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and specifically helping out people who
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can't get out of the house and those
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that feel that they they're probably too
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frail to venture out to the supermarkets
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we the charities are doing a fantastic
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job I'm hearing a little bit about that
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through my team and from how
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men sort of many of them when I was last
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down on the coast of Lanka I I know
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they're doing an amazing job but I can
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for every confidence that they will be
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just like everybody actually there's a
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lot of solidarity around people are
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stepping up to help out those who need
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help and that's absolutely fantastic we
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know that there are lots of British
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businesses here and British autonomy
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workers in Spain we've been hearing
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about Spanish financial help will any of
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that Spanish aid come to Brits perhaps
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or will the UK government be able to
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help expats as far as that scenario is
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concerned ambassador I I think that if
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you're if you're working in Spain then
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it's the Spanish government did you need
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to look - it was certainly a
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extraordinary package of help that the
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Spanish government announced yesterday
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in total of two hundred two hundred
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billion euro package a large part of
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that for example is in credit lines and
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guarantees for companies to help them
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rollover loans meet bills and so on and
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also for those who those companies small
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companies I mean this is a very
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unfortunate but necessary enforced
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suspension of activity there's help for
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companies who may have to stop work or
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temporarily lay off workers to reduce
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their social security contributions and
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and so on so the risk there is a really
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important package of measures have been
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put in place already and I wouldn't
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discount at all that there might well be
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more to come because this is a very
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fast-moving situation and everybody is
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very conscious that it's not only a
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public health emergency but it's also an
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economic emergency and of course those
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of us that live here we all have
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mortgages or we're paying rent and
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that's a big concern especially given
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the employment situation with most
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companies now absolutely that's
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absolutely right and so this is why
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these measures which we're still looking
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at and we're still digesting the detail
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of that as I said they only came back
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yesterday afternoon and what we will do
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is we will make sure that the we get an
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understanding of this and the
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information out in English for people
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appropriate so we're living here in
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Spain so that people can have the latest
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information it's not
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we would normally do we would normally
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sort of assume that people who are sort
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of living here have got access to all
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the rules and regulations but these are
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exceptional circumstances that we want
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do our best to get get information about
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these measures and to bridge in Spain
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indeed ambassador Spanish Prime Minister
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Pedro Sanchez said yesterday
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extraordinary times require
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extraordinary measures and today he's
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been speaking to Congress not very many
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of them actually in the building to be
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honest but he said the hardest part is
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yet to come just said that earlier how
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many meetings been going with the
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Spanish government and indeed London
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well we've been as I said I think a bit
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earlier we've been talking I've been
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talking quite a lot to the Spanish
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government as you'd expect I've been
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speaking to
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for example the Foreign Minister the
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tourism most their officials and all
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sorts of different parts of the system
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foreign secretary Dominick Robb spoke to
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the Spanish Foreign Minister and check
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on fellows mayor last night because I
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think as I said we're all in this
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together and what we're trying to do is
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to make sure that we can as possible
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look after people keep them safe and
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slow down and stop this pandemic we're
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going to carry on doing that and we're
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going to carry on working very closely
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with the Spanish to do that there really
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isn't the rhythm that has breath between
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us in terms of our approach this
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ambassador we've had quite a few
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questions from people who are concerned
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and obviously lots of different people's
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situations are different generally we're
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having the situation where fairies have
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been canceled and people now don't know
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how to get back they're asking whether
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they can drive through Spain up through
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France to the Channel Tunnel some of
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them are traveling with pets there are
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other people who have flights booked to
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the UK from the cost of Blanc and other
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parts of Spain for early April and
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they're asking do we just sit and wait
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some people are in their holiday homes
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which they own others are in rented
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holiday homes it's a very fluid
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situation as I appreciate what can you
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say to them today though well as you as
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you've just described Cal there I you
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know that it depends a lot on your
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personal situation but the overall
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message I would say is if your resident
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in Spain obviously stay put but if
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you're not
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then our advice is that you look to make
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your way back to the UK as soon as
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possible we changed our formal travel
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advice late last night involved in the
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in the light of folks of know just how
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things are evolving to provide that
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advice and that's why we're working very
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closely with the Airlines ferry
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companies to try to make sure that all
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the services are available I'm known for
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example that I think some 25 flights
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went out from and we can't say yesterday
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another similar sort of numbers going
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out today so services are still running
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and we're going to try to make sure that
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they continue to run now yes you can
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drive up through Spain yes you can drive
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through France the French have put in
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place a system whereby you need a
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self-certification a declaration in
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order to you may be asked to produce
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that if you're driving through France
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you ask not to stop a part from for food
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or for petrol and to make your way up
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and at the moment the cross-channel
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ferries are still are still running but
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the two things we particularly ask
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people to do if you're looking to go
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home is to look at the website of your
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travel provider whether that's a ferry
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company whether that's an airline often
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the website is a better place to go to
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because everybody's swamped with calls
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at the moment so I would say first it
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would be the website call if you need to
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if you're really in trouble for some
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reason and you need consular assistance
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then by all means call our consulates
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and also the final place to look for the
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latest advice we're putting everything
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up on the travel advice pages on gov dot
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uk' so if you're going through France
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look for the travel advice pages on
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France on gov dot UK and we're trying to
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put everything we possibly can there
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it's being updated constantly and I
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should say that we're working we're
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working pretty much right down to try to
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do the best possible job we can all from
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very poor the embassy and consulates are
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still open but there are very few people
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there because we are following the rules
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with the default is working from home
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there are a few people naturally in the
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offices these days indeed must have been
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speaking to a number of your staff today
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and they're doing a fantastic job as
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always and I know that you've pretty
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much have been flat out on this 24/7
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really since last week impact I think
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Wednesday was when things started to
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change quite dramatically and we
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appreciate your time for speaking to us
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that this afternoon
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thank you very much Cal it's a pleasure
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and
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like the Spanish saying that's doing the
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rounds on social media sticking together
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we'll get through this and we will beat
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this pandemic
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you
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