'This idea has always been discriminatory' - England vaccine passport plans scrapped

Vaccine passports will no longer be introduced automatically at the end of this month, after pressure from Tory MPs and the hospitality sector.

In an interview with Times Radio health secretary, Sajid Javid, said the passports are a ‘huge intrusion into people’s lives’.

He said: “You have got to be really, really certain that’s what you want to do. We have looked at it and whilst we will keep it in reserve I am pleased to say that we will not be going ahead.”

Downing Street has insisted that vaccine passports are still a ‘first-line defence’ against a winter wave of Covid-19 despite the health secretary saying plans to introduce them had been scrapped.

They said checks on the vaccine status of people going to nightclubs and other crowded events remained a crucial part of the government’s winter Covid plan due to be unveiled by the prime minister tomorrow. Adding, ‘vaccine passports remained an integral part of the government’s plan to reduce transmission in the winter if hospital admissions continued to rise’.

Night Time Economy Advisor for Greater Manchester, Sacha Lord, tweeted: “If the reports are correct this morning, the idea that everyone must be double jabbed to attend large gatherings, is NOT going to be introduced. This idea has always been discriminatory. We've proven we can run safe events. If true, it's very much welcomed from the Gov't.”

Sajid Javid said that with more than 80 per cent of the population vaccinated he was not sure it was a necessary tool to increase uptake. He also revealed that he wanted to get rid of mandatory PCR tests for travel ‘as soon as I possibly can’, telling Sky News that officials were looking at plans to modify travel rules, potentially replacing PCR tests with cheaper lateral flow tests that could be completed at home.

The decision means that Covid measures in England will not follow those in Scotland, where a motion on introduction of passports was passed in the Scottish parliament on Thursday. A decision is expected in Wales next week.