Call to axe jab passports plan after England move
Holyrood told to reconsider move amid concerns over privacy
THE Scottish Government is being urged to reconsider its Covid passport plans after the UK Health Secretary announced they would be scrapped in England.
Sajid Javid said Westminster would be dropping its plans on a vaccine certificate scheme for domestic settings during an interview yesterday morning.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced fierce criticism from within his own party over the measures for England, with those opposed to the plans arguing they impinged on people’s freedoms and privacy.
The scheme, which will come into force in Scotland on October 1, requires members of the public to prove they have received two vaccines to gain access to nightclubs, sporting events and other large-capacity venues.
Yesterday Mr Javid said he had “never liked the idea” of the public having to give evidence to enter large events, saying:
“We were right to properly look at it.”
But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon defended Scotland’s decision and insisted passports have their “part to play”.
Reacting to the UK Government announcement, she said:
“I think as a part of a package of measures, it has a part to play.
“Anybody who thinks there is one single magic wand to this virus probably hasn’t learned enough over the past 18 months, and of course any measure we take has upsides and downsides.”
Renewed backlash to vaccine passports comes at a fragile moment for Scotland as the latest figures show that more than 1,000 coronavirus patients are in hospital in Scotland.
The number of patients with recently confirmed Covid-19 now stands at 1,019, a rise of 34 on the
previous day and marks the ninth consecutive daily increase.
Of these patients, 88 are in intensive care, up five on the previous day.
A number of health boards have said they are experiencing unprecedented demand as a result of the recent surge in Covid cases.
Last week the Scottish Government voted through measures in Scotland, despite similar criticisms regarding privacy.
SNP and Green MSPS voted in favour of the plans, while Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives opposed them.
In Westminster, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi MP faced a fierce backlash when he defended the policy in the Commons on Wednesday, with Tory MPS accusing the Government of picking an “unnecessary fight” with them.
He said: “It is not something we do lightly, it is something to allow us to transition this virus from pandemic to endemic status.”
Yesterday the head of Scotland’s professional football league said it will be “very difficult” to check that all fans attending games have a vaccine passport.
The SPFL’S Neil Doncaster said the only way to make the scheme work would be to carry out spot checks to avoid lengthy queues and possible disorder.
Mr Doncaster told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show that the SPFL was “hugely concerned” about the practicalities of delivering the scheme.
He said: “I think it can work, but I think spot-checking is frankly the only practical reality because if you are expecting football clubs to vaccine-passport-check 30,000 or 40,000 people in the minutes before kick-off, that’s simply not going to happen.”
Following the announcement that plans would be dropped in England, several opposition MSPS said Holyrood ministers should now also scrap the measures.
Alex Cole-hamilton, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said the UK Government’s move showed that Conservative ministers had more concern for people’s privacy than the SNP and the Greens.
He said: “It’s sad to see that the Conservative government in Westminster has more concern for medical privacy than the Snp-green coalition in Scotland.
“The solution to the current crisis is vaccinations and a functioning contact tracing system, not Covid ID cards. You shouldn’t have to share your private medical information with someone who is not your clinician.”
He said his party would be campaigning for the “illiberal and intrusive ID cards to be abolished in Scotland.”
Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Tories, said the scheme would have an impact on businesses, and accused the SNP of “bulldozing” through the plans “without any thought for the livelihoods it would affect.”
He said: “It was rushed, riddled with holes and no thought was given to how businesses would be impacted. No alternatives were considered.
“Vaccine passports have been examined as a potential safeguard against another damaging lockdown or fresh restrictions but they are a major intervention for business sectors which are only just starting to get on their feet. I am pleased the Health Secretary has confirmed this won’t be going ahead in England.
“The SNP should reflect on their half-baked plans that only passed in Holyrood with the votes of SNP and Green politicians.”
Yesterday Prof Stephen Reicher of St Andrews University, who is a member of the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 advisory group, said that vaccine passports were a “double-edged sword”.
He tweeted: “Passports accelerate uptake in the willing but accentuate opposition in the sceptical. They increase safety but can increase complacency. If you don’t introduce passports, the key question is what are you going to do instead.”