I think this is a good point, and one I have thought about but don't have an answer.

Currently the law is you are allowed to leave your home to do work, "for the purposes of work..... where it is not reasonably possible for P to work....from home", and if that involves you travelling abroad then so be it. There is no additional law on top of that about being allowed to travel aboard.

For those of us in traditional professions and industries there may be an element of seeing influencers as not really work, but if it is their livelihood perhaps it is their work? Also I am sure some of us (me included) do tend to see all this social media influencer stuff as pretty valueless, but again that may be a reflection of my own prejudice. There is no mention of value of the work or whether it is "essential" in the law. Regardless of what I think of it, if they are earning a living from it perhaps it is work - perhaps some of them would think being a patent attorney is pretty valueless?

Anyway, the point is, whilst they are in the public firing line atm, it is clear that the law set down by the politicians now criticising them does not actually outlaw what they are doing. Certainly it doesn't seem appropriate atm, but illegal probably not. Perhaps what needs to happen now is the government needs to provide some clearer rules on what work reasons there can be to travel abroad, and perhaps more focused on what is really necessary. Easy to criticise them, but the fault is not all on their shoulders.