would have been more of a concern but right now it's more of a cost versus safety thing. _ many of the people travelling from london st pancras to europe today will have to take a test when they come home. the big question, though, is how much these changes will stop people travelling, especially over the christmas period — a time of course when people do tend to move around to see friends and family — because, perhaps, of the uncertainty involved and the cost. the deputy prime minister says it's better to be safe than sorry. i think, though, that the worst thing would be to then lurch, having not taken incremental steps that can make a difference, even if it's only at the margins. i think we want to make sure we take those steps earlier precisely to avoid the bigger disruption to travel and the economy. the measures will be looked at again in three weeks' time. katie prescott, bbc news. well, the uk health security agency says there have been 86 additional confirmed cases of the omicron variant of coronavirus, bringing the total in the uk to 246.