Plans to require vaccine passports for entry to nightclubs and other venues from September are not a “bluff”, cabinet minister Grant Shapps has insisted.
Mr Shapps said that people considering whether to get jabbed should recognise that “there are simply things that you will not be able to do” unless they are vaccinated, including travelling outside the UK.
But the nightclub industry said that the government had been “all over the place” on the issue, with businesses still hopeful that the threatened pass system will never materialise.
Clubs were allowed to reopen on 19 July without requirements for proof of vaccine status, but Boris Johnson has said that he will make them mandatory by the end of September.
The prime minister said that the delay was to give time for all over-18s to be given the opportunity to receive two jabs against Covid-19, meaning that the pass plan would exclude only those who chose to reject protection.
But the timing of his plans has sparked widespread speculation that the true purpose of the warning was to encourage younger age-groups to get jabbed. The PM is said to have been “raging” about low take-up rates among the young and also floated proposals – later ditched – for vaccine requirements to attend university lectures or halls of residence.
He is facing the threat of a backbench Tory rebellion against legislation to introduce vaccine passes, expected to be tabled in the Commons when MPs return from their summer break in September.
Mr Shapps today denied that the nightclub vaccine pass was merely a “bluff” which would never be put into operation.
“It’s not a bluff, no,” he told LBC radio.
“And it’s important to understand that there are simply going to be things that you will not be able to do unless you’re double vaccinated or have a medical reason not to be, including going abroad.
“Actually there are good reasons if you’re perhaps in your 20s and you feel like ‘Oh, this doesn’t really affect me’. Well, it is going to because you won’t be able to leave the country. That’s not something the British government’s doing, that’s something that’s being required by every government around the world.
“You know that that, and going to nightclubs, are things that you require your vaccination for. Get your vaccination, it helps everybody, not just yourself from long Covid and the rest of it, but also loved ones and people you don’t even know.”
Mr Shapps was unable to say how long a vaccine pass scheme might remain in operation.
“I don’t know the answer to how long we’ll need them,” he said. “We’ll have to follow what the scientists and clinicians tell us.”
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said: “The government has been all over the place when it comes to the issue of Covid passports – at first certification wasn’t mandatory, and this position was completely reversed within a week. Is it any wonder so many believe this is a cheap political ploy?
“We have consistently opposed the mandatory implementation of Covid passports. Businesses need to be able to decide for themselves what is best for them and, for many of our members, the passports will wipe out revenues so heavily reliant on spontaneity.
“We have already seen the opposition to this ill-thought policy and my hope is that, come September, the government will decide it is far more trouble than its worth.”
Mr Johnson has suggested that any vaccine pass requirement would also cover “other venues where large crowds gather”, but the government has yet to make clear whether this will include large pubs, concert venues or conferences.
Some Tory MPs have said they will boycott the party’s annual conference in Manchester if they are required to show proof of vaccination.
Any scheme will be based on the NHS smartphone app, which includes a QR code confirmation of vaccine status which “you may need to show… at places that have chosen to use this service”.
However, alternatives to vaccine passes – such as proof of a recent negative test or immunity through prior infection – will also be accepted, in order to avoid discrimination against people who are unable to receive the jab for medical reasons.
