Shapps confirmed to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday (20 May) the list would be reviewed, for the first time, in early June.

However, while stressing he was personally pushing for the list to be extended, he reiterated the government’s stance that this would likely depend on "other countries catching up" with the UK’s vaccination programme.

"That’s going to gradually happen, you can see it’s happening, so that list should expand," he said. "We’re reviewing this all the time, every three weeks – the next review is in the first week of June and we’ll have to see what happens.

"[But] our message is very straightforward: ‘just a little bit of patience, everyone’."

Shapps also called on travel companies to be flexible with travellers facing disruption owing to coronavirus restrictions.

"I appeal to holiday companies, and there is protection in place for particularly package holidays through the Atol system, to be as flexible as possible and as helpful as possible," Shapps told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.