SNP to face human rights court f ight on vaccine passports

THE SNP’S vaccine passports could face a series of court challenges amid claims they might breach human rights laws.

England and Wales have already ditched the plan, but the Scottish Government insists its own scheme – which remains mired in confusion – will go ahead on October 1.

Yesterday, it emerged hospitality business leaders are preparing to launch a legal challenge in a bid to halt its introduction.

Representatives of bar and restaurant owners have already consulted lawyers to discuss a potential challenge before Ministers publish proposed regulations.

Glasgow nightclub owner Donald MacLeod said: ‘Across hospitality, there’s a view that this scheme is discriminatory and iniquitous, and will distort the market.

‘It is absurd to call this a public health measure, it is not. It’s also nonsense for Ministers to say they are consulting. They are just telling us what to do.’

Under the proposals, people will need to prove they have had two vaccine doses before they enter nightclubs and ‘analogous venues’, when the scheme is introduced.

An estimated 2,000 nightclubs and late-opening bars will be affected by the scheme, and some have warned they will be forced out of business.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘Covid ID cards must be cancelled.

‘Vaccinations are undoubtedly the route out of this, but vaccine passports are not. They will make little difference to case numbers and cannot address the gaps left by the faltering contact tracing system, Test and Protect.

‘We know this scheme doesn’t stack up. Having a vaccine doesn’t stop you catching the virus, or passing it on and there is a risk that Covid ID cards generate a false sense of security.’

The legal move comes as new data shows people who have had

Covid-19 but remain unjabbed are just as well protected as those who have had two doses. This means banning Scots from venues based simply on vaccination status could also be challenged in court.

Last night a leading QC told this newspaper, on condition of anonymity: ‘If you’ve got antibodies and you can achieve the same [level of protection] I don’t see what the difference is.

‘Should a government policy bar someone from entry to a service or facility or venue based on vaccination status alone? That is [grounds for] a potential challenge.’