BRITS who refuse the Covid vaccine are “selfish” and deserve to be banned from big events like the Premier League, Michael Gove blasted last night.
In the most direct assault on adults who have so far not taken up an offer of a jab, the Cabinet Office minister hit out: “Ultimately, if you can be vaccinated and you refuse to, that is a selfish act.”
Speaking on a visit to a virus testing lab in Glasgow, he added: “You’re putting other people’s health and lives at risk, you should get vaccinated.”
And he added “some form of certification is the right way to go” to prove if you have been jabbed.
Mr Gove warned: “If you deliberately refuse to get vaccinated and there are certain venues and certain events that require a certain level of safety, then, you know, the terms in which you will be able to get into those venues and those events will be barred to you.”
Ministers are considering whether to make Covid passports compulsory for football stadiums and larger venues, as well as night clubs.
Probed on the state of those talks, Mr Gove said: “I think we do have to have some way of making sure that for certain venues and certain events, that people can be confident that those who are attending those events are less likely to be carriers of the virus.”
And citing football specifically, he added: “Ultimately, we all want to make sure that major activities, Premier League games, other major activities, are safe.”
Last night the boss of the Tory backbencher anti-lockdown Covid Recovery Group hammered Mr Gove’s comments, accusing him for forcing mandatory jabs through the back door.
Ex-Cabinet Minister Mark Harper said: “I strongly support vaccination, have been double jabbed and would recommend others do likewise. I do not support compulsory vaccination or measures dressed up to achieve that result – like domestic vaccine passports.”
Mr Gove’s comments about football came as Tottenham announced they will trial the use of the NHS Covid Pass for fans who want to attend friendlies against Arsenal next month.
Attendees will have to show official proof through the NHS app that they are double jabbed, or have had a negative test within 48 hours.
