LANDLORDS have already called time on Boris Johnson’s suggestion that Covid “vaccination passports” could be required to enter pubs.
Publicans, MPs and drinkers all rallied against the Prime Minister’s idea that customers should prove their health credentials at boozers.
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Along with the proof of having a vaccination, other suggestions to offer Brits a freedom pass include past infection or a recent negative test recorded on the ‘passport’ smartphone app.
Those who have had Covid will be able to show proof of their immunity from the bug on the NHS app even if they have not been jabbed.
But landlords insisted: “The only ID we need is proof of age.” And trade bodies said making entry conditional on jabs was “simply unworkable” and would cause conflict between staff and customers.
Tory lockdown sceptic Steve Baker urged the Government not to “fall into this ghastly trap”. He said we should not “tolerate businesses turning away customers who have shown an unfortunate hesitancy to take up the offer of a vaccine”.
Labour’s Ed Miliband said: “If this was really a public health measure, you wouldn’t be saying, ‘well, it’s going to be at the landlord’s discretion’.”
Last night, the British Beer and Pub Association insisted the requirement would not be “appropriate or necessary”.
Greg Grundy, landlord of The Egremont in Worthing, West Sussex, also opposed the move, saying: “Unless government gets support for pubs right, then establishments that survived the wars will close.
“We put in one-way systems, screens, adopted social distancing, we did training for staff, sanitisation, registration books for track and trace, and as a result I think the majority of the public feel a pub is one of the safest places to be.”
