The changes will come into force on Wednesday 22 September at 4am.

The announcement was made this afternoon by transport secretary Grant Shapps. 

The full list of countries being removed from the red list is:

• Turkey
• Pakistan
• Maldives
• Egypt
• Sri Lanka
• Oman
• Bangladesh
• Kenya

In a statement the Department for Transport warned passengers "who aren’t recognised as being fully vaccinated with authorised vaccines and certificates under England’s international travel rules, will still have to take a pre-departure test, a day two and eight PCR test and self-isolate for 10 days upon their return from a non-red list country under the new two-tiered travel programme".

It added that Test to Release would remain an option for unvaccinated passengers who wish to shorten their isolation period.

It came as Shapps also announced the government had scrapped the amber and green categories, in what many in the sector have hailed as a significant boost to the industry.