Over 70 MPs are set to launch a campaign against imposing Covid passports in the United Kingdom, Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and senior Tory Iain Duncan Smith are among the MPs that will champion the cause.
Any demand to prove vaccination status to access jobs, businesses or services would be “divisive and discriminatory”, the cross-party group said.
The news comes after the Daily Telegraph reported that a series of pilot tests for Covid passports were being planned.
Despite this, HM’s government said no final decision had been made on Covid certificates.
A review is taking place into whether such a system could help to reopen the economy in England, with discussions also taking place across the devolved nations.
When asked, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously said people could be asked to provide a vaccine certificate for entry into pubs in England, saying it “may be up to individual publicans”.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said vaccine passports could also be used as a “tool in the short term” to reopen theatres and sports stadiums.
However, a broad coalition of MPs and peers have now signed a pledge saying they “oppose the divisive and discriminatory use of Covid status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs”.
The group accusing the government of “creeping authoritarianism”, Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said: “As we start to get this virus properly under control we should start getting our freedoms back. Vaccine passports – essentially Covid ID cards – take us in the other direction.”
Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, added: “With high levels of vaccination protecting the vulnerable and making transmission less likely, we should aim to return to normal life, not to put permanent restrictions in place.”
The group’s director, Silkie Carlo, said: “We are in real danger of becoming a check-point society where anyone from bouncers to bosses could demand to see our papers. We cannot let this government create a two-tier nation of division, discrimination and injustice.”
A government spokeswoman said: “The review is considering a range of issues, including the ethical, equalities, privacy, legal and operational aspects and what limits, if any, should be placed on organisations using certification.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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