Originally Posted by brunos

I think that there is a French legal issue to quarantine people against their will.
When the measures was announced, officials said that you have to voluntarily accept it otherwise entry would be denied and you have to fly back.
Whether that is more "legal", I don't know.

Could anyone assist me in answering a question from my wife (MD quite specialized on covid)? We live far away and do not read the UK press.
Any insight on the true motivation for imposing a UK quarantine?

From a health reason, it does not make much sense. UK is the bad student of Europe, so the risk is lower, often far lower, elsewhere. A list of risky destinations (e.g. Latin America, India) might have made some sense, as imposed in some other countries at an early stage. But imposing it to all destinations?

Maybe a tourist runs higher risk of catching covid because tourists keep going to crowded public places (beach, swimming pools, cafe, restaurants, shopping). Hence, it would be the behavior rather than the location that is at risk.

Maybe it is an economic consideration. UK is a net exporter of tourists. By forcing them to stay at home, their spending will boost the UK economy rather than the foreign ones.

There must be some rationale besides the "we do something". But as pointed out by many,, it seems weird to implement quarantine so late in the game. The UK had been, by far, the most open country so far.
Any insight would be appreciated.