Yes, we do need more virus curbs

Today we reveal how Boris Johnson hosted a boozy virtual quiz last December for No10 staff in an apparent breach of Covid rules. It is yet another social gathering among many at the top of government which should never have happened.

In Mr Johnson’s world, regulations he imposes on the rest of us are there to be flouted by him.

But just because the PM is a serial rulebreaker it does not mean that we should be.

Omicron is coming at us with speed of a jet-propelled sleigh – and could yet disrupt Christmas if we do not deal with it.

Our best protection is getting jabbed and boosted. But vaccines alone will not defeat it. Which is why more restrictions are necessary.

This newspaper does not believe in mandatory vaccination. It should be an individual right to refuse to be stabbed in the arm with a biological agent, no matter how medically inadvisable that choice might be.

But that decision carries with it consequences. The double- and triple-jabbed also have rights. They have the right to go to events without finding themselves next to a coughing and spluttering anti-vaxxer.

Which is why Plan B Covid passports are justified. Those who choose to be unvaccinated are also making the choice to be banned from nightclubs and football matches unless they can prove they are Covid-free.

And without a passport they may soon be refused entry to pubs and restaurants, too.

Tory MPs who bleat that this is an affront to freedom are taking liberties with the majority who do the right thing.

Mr Johnson may take us for fools. But we have the common sense to know what to do for the best. And it is his own foolishness which will bring him down.