Woman claims she was harassed after finding bed bugs in Milton Keynes quarantine hotel

A woman has told the BBC she felt 'frightened', whilst quarantining in a Milton Keynes hotel.

Janet Wheeler, was left alone with a guard in the Delta Hotel by Marriott Milton Keynes. In the report by the BBC, she claims the man asked her if she was married, if she was travelling alone, and if she liked black men.

The woman was put in this potentially compromising position, after she had to change rooms due to bed bugs infesting her original room, she says.

She told the BBC: "It made me feel frightened, insecure. I couldn't get away and I couldn't get back in the room. There wasn't even anyone I could call."

A representative from the Marriot responded saying: they took the allegations very seriously, that they had urged G4S to investigate and would cooperate in any investigation. A hotel representative also said staff heat-treated the room and found no bed bugs.

Ms Wheeler spoke to the BBC as part of a wider investigation into the conduct of the G4S security team that patrol quarantine hotels. Four women claim they were sexually harassed by security whilst quarantining in hotels across the UK.

G4S is one of the security firms hired by the government to oversee quarantine operations. Current Covid protocols say that people travelling back to the UK from red list countries where Covid infection rates remain high, must quarantine in a hotel for 10 nights.

During their time in strict quarantine, people are only allowed out of their hotel once for exercise when they must be accompanied by a guard from one of these firms.

G4S told the BBC it expected the highest standards of conduct from staff and investigated allegations of wrongdoing.

In a statement, the company said: "We expect the highest standards of conduct from our staff and we do not tolerate behaviour that undermines the good work of our teams, who continue to play an important role in the national response to the pandemic.

"Should we be made aware of any wrongdoing, robust procedures are in place to ensure the employee is removed from the site while an investigation is carried out by G4S and if appropriate, the police."

All G4S staff hold valid Security Industry Authority licence, which they can only gain with successful Disclosure and Barring Service and criminal record checks.