Connection Timeout on Google Play
I was on the verge of packing the tablet up and returning it to Amazon and thought I would try one last thing. I took the tablet to a friends house and tried it on their WIFI just to double check it was not my network. The table worked first time and I used Google Play to install a number of apps.

I then took the tablet back to my house and Google Play continued to work and I installed some more apps.

I have no idea what my router was blocking that prevented Google Play from working but it seems fine now. If the problem returns I know the issue is with my router now, not the tablet.