Mandatory vaccines ‘unethical and impractical’, says Javid

MANDATORY jabs are unethical and impractical, Sajid Javid has declared, after the Prime Minister called for a “national conversation” about how to deal with unvaccinated people.

Boris Johnson’s hint that mandatory jabs may be considered sparked open revolt among Tory backbenchers.

Peter Bone decried the idea as “completely outrageous“, telling BBC Two’s Newsnight that “I’d be the first to say the PM should go” if it were implemented.

Alexander Stafford, who represents the red wall seat of Rother Valley, announced he too “cannot and will not support mandatory vaccinations”.

Members of the Cabinet and other ministers also harboured strong misgivings, it is understood. One government source said: “Everyone agrees it’s not the way forward.”

Another Whitehall insider said: “This is fascist nonsense and should be shunned by any freedom-loving man or woman in this country.”

Mr Javid, the Health Secretary, sought to calm the row yesterday by stressing that getting vaccinated should be a choice and it would not be practical to force people, as is being considered in some European countries.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, has suggested that mandatory jabs should be considered across the EU.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Javid said mandatory vaccination was “unethical and also at a practical level it wouldn’t work”, though there was an exception in the case of health and care staff, working in a “high-risk” environment.

“But if you ask me about universal mandatory vaccination – as some countries in Europe have said that they will do – at a practical level I just don’t think it would work because getting vaccinated should be a positive decision.”

Amplifying the Prime Minister’s “conversation” comment, his official spokesman said: “I think he was making a broader point on the intention to keep developing further mitigations against coronavirus and any subsequent mutations, be that polyvalent vaccinations or further therapeutics, like the antivirals that we’re rolling out.”

He added: “I think he was clear that he didn’t want us to have a society and culture where we forced people to get vaccinated.”