Morrison brushes criticism of UK side trip
Scott Morrison has brushed off criticism of a secret side trip to explore his family history during a recent visit to the United Kingdom.
The prime minister visited three local pubs and retraced his Cornish roots at the same time as he publicly argued Britain was too risky a destination for Australian travellers.
He also visited an old jail and laid flowers for an ancestor born there in 1755.
The personal trip south of the G7 summit wasn't disclosed to the media and has sparked anger among Australians stuck overseas, who've described it as insensitive and tone deaf.
Mr Morrison defended tracing his family roots and insisted Australians would not see the trip as a double standard.
"It was pretty innocent ... that's massively overstating it," he told 2GB radio on Monday.
The prime minister said his plane landed north of London rather than Cornwall because of the fog and the delegation stopped off along the way.
"We had some lunch and stopped off in another location on the way," Mr Morrison said.
"And after the G7 on the way to the airport, we stopped at another place, which just happens to be where my fifth great grandfather was from."
The prime minister said he certainly hoped Australians would be able to travel overseas by next Christmas.
Mr Morrison said what happened overseas over summer would determine if and when Australia reopened its borders.
"We'll learn a lot from that," he said.
"If it's not causing serious illnesses and rising hospitalisations, then that will be important information for our medical experts to look at and give us good advice about what that means for travel."
