Prime Minister Boris Johnson dropped a jaw dropping bombshell as he said that pubs may require ‘vaccine certificates’ in order for customers to enter.
Landlords may be given the power to bar anyone without a covid-19 jab in future. This will come as major news the under-40s in the UK who will not get their vaccines until later in the year, assuming the supply is not further affected.
Asked about vaccine certificates for pubs, he said: “I think that’s the kind of thing that may be up to individual publicans. It may be up to the landlord.”
Kathy Gyngell, editor of the Conservative Woman tweeted in response to the news: “Which pub landlord is going to risk his or her business tanking further by introducing a restriction like vaccine passports after almost a year of no takings?”
Another person remarked on Twitter: “This 👇I’ve followed the rules (when so many people I know haven’t) and I plan to get the vaccine as soon as it’s available, but this just makes me feel so breathless and claustrophobic. I can’t do this again. Forget the bloody pub, I just want to see my dad. #thirdwave”
Steve Baker, Conservative MP for Wycombe said: “Govt has said you can go to the Euros this Summer if you have a vaccine certificate
“If we accept this, then it’s papers for the pub, or for certain jobs
“No to a 2-tier Britain that prevents pregnant women from taking part in society: Govt is telling them not to take the vaccine”
Another person tweeted:”And they can give vaccine pub certificates but they can’t give a certificate to fly. Deluded”.
Another Twitter user said: “Just 1 month ago. ‘Feb 13, 2021: Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he has no plans to introduce so-called vaccine passports for activities like going to the pub.’
“Complete U Turn. (Again) because the agenda needs to be fulfilled, else he is out.”
Boris also said that 75% of the UK’s medicine supplies and 50% of food supplies travelled via France. “People should be under no illusions that it would have consequences,” he said.
“We will take a decision, no matter how tough, to interrupt that trade and to interrupt those flows if we think that it is necessary to protect public health and stop new variants coming in and it may be that we have to do that very soon.”
Labour suggested it was time to add France to the red list, which would mean all travel from there would be banned for everyone apart from UK residents, and arrivals would need to quarantine.
Holly Lynch, said: “The UK government is recklessly putting at risk progress being made by the vaccine by refusing to take action to secure our borders against Covid.
She added: “The fact that they will not even add France to their own limited red list shows they continue to fail to understand the consequences of doing too little, too late.”
