Vaccine passport ‘is undercover ID’

VACCINE passports are ‘undercover ID cards’, the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has warned.

On a Holyrood election campaign visit, he raised concerns over the use of certificates detailing whether or not someone has been vaccinated against coronavirus.

The Lib Dems are opposed to domestic vaccine passports, which have been suggested by senior UK Government officials as a way of opening up large venues and mass events.

Yesterday Sir Ed warned that the development of vaccine passports could be used as a back door to issuing ID cards to the public.

He said: ‘With Governments north and south of the Border previously attracted to ID cards, we must be extra-vigilant about this development.

‘Liberal Democrats opposed ID cards because of the concern about Government storing personal information on a super database which could be misused in future.

‘Neither the UK or Scottish Governments have ruled out using vaccine passports to limit access to public spaces, services and events.

‘The best way to keep our country safe is suppress the community spread of the virus by vaccinating as many people as possible and delivering widespread asymptomatic testing so new strains can be eliminated.’

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: ‘It would be unfair for millions of young people who have sacrificed so much in the last year to lose out and a major step for the Government to insist on medical treatment before people can access everyday services.’