Covid passports ‘set to be trialled’ at major test events despite growing resistance from MPs
Trial events with spectators were unveiled last month, including FA Cup Final
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Your support makes all the difference.Covid passports will reportedly be piloted at major domestic “test events” in the UK this spring amid a growing resistance from MPs who have branded vaccine certification “divisive and discriminatory”.
It comes after Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, announced plans last month to hold a series of trial events at football stadiums and live music venues to provide scientific data informing the widespread reopening of the economy in the summer.
Officials said at the time the exact number of spectators allowed to participate in the pilots, but suggested around a dozen events would be held, which are already set to include the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium and the World Snooker championships.
While the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said participants would be required to have tested negative and undergo a second test afterwards, there was no mention of Covid passports being involved.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the government now intends to use certification at some of the pilot events running through the spring, with participants being asked to use a modified NHS app to log details.
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It is largely accepted that Covid-status certification — including proof of vaccine, a negative test or antibodies — will play a role in the reopening of international travel, but the government has insisted no financial decisions have been taken on the documents being used for the domestic economy, including pubs.
A spokesperson said a review spearheaded by Michael Gove is considering a range of issues, including ethical, equalities, privacy, and legal concerns and whether any limits should be placed on organisations using certification.
Interim details of the review are expected to be announced by Boris Johnson next week, but the prime minister is facing considerable opposition at Westminster, with Sir Keir Starmer suggesting the “British instinct” would be against the use of such a scheme.
On Friday, 70 cross-party MPs and peers also launched a campaign against the use of vaccine passports, with an unusual alliance between Labour’s left-wing and backbench Conservatives, including former leader Iain Duncan Smith.
Among other, the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Tory 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady said certificates should not be used to “deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs”.
Addressing the campaign on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Labour peer Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, the former head of civil liberties group Liberty, described any introduction of certification as “counter-productive” due to the country’s high vaccine confidence levels.
“History demonstrates, even in Britain, that when you inject an element of compulsion into public health measures, such as vaccination or symptomatic testing, you actually encourage resistance and scepticism amongst the population,” she said.
“It’s one thing to have a passport to travel internationally, that is a privilege, even a luxury, but participating in local community life is a fundamental right.”
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