National vaccine IDs 'under consideration' says UK foreign sec as 110,000 citizens sign petition against draconian move

Aubrey Allegretti
Sky News
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 14:14 UTC

The idea seems back on the table, after Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove rubbished it.

Vaccine certificates to let Britons prove they have been inoculated against coronavirus are "under consideration", the foreign secretary has suggested.

Dominic Raab sparked surprise by saying the idea "hasn't been ruled out", after it was repeatedly rubbished by some other ministers.

The documents have been mooted given the fast-paced rollout of COVID-19 jabs, as attention turns to when and how restrictions can be lifted.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi suggested in November that the government was considering "immunity passports" and suggested firms like bars and cinemas "will probably also use that system".

Comment: Recent history shows us that totalitarian states have a tendency to require citizens to carry identification documents.

But that was later rubbished by Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, who told Sky News: "I certainly am not planning to introduce any vaccine passports, and I don't know anyone else in government who is."

Comment: Gove may have been bluffing, but, either way, evidently there's a hidden hand that holds much more sway over UK government policy than its politicians.

Sky News then revealed earlier this week that the Cabinet Office had drawn up a proposal to introduce vaccine and testing certificates for when international travel is allowed again, with Mr Raab's support.

When asked on Sunday about the prospect of documents being needed domestically, for example to let a person enter a supermarket, Mr Raab told LBC: "Well it's something that hasn't been ruled out.

Comment: Clearly those pushing the experimental vaccines are doing all they can to make life next to impossible for those that do not want to suffer them.

"It's under consideration, but of course you've got to make it workable.

"I think the thing with when I've looked at this [is], whether it's at the international, domestic or local level, you've got to know that the document that is being presented is something you can rely on - that it is an accurate status of the individual.

"So I'm not sure there's a fool-proof answer in the way that sometimes it's presented, but we'll look at all the options."

Asked if it was illegal to stop a person entering a restaurant or shop on the basis of their vaccine status, Mr Raab said: "In terms of the law that would apply, that's something that's the prerogative of the government and parliament.

Comment: Not really. Because many of these 'emergency laws' have bypassed any parliamentary debate and democratic mandate, and, according to some legal experts, are not really laws at all: It is not the police's job to enforce the lockdown whims of UK ministers - former senior judge Lord Sumption

"But what we want to do is make sure there's enough confidence in the national rollout, that when we're in a position to open non-essential retail and in due course after that hospitality, people can do so confidently.

"The legalities and the mechanisms, that all needs to be worked out. And the prime minister I said will give a clearer sense of the direction of travel on 22 February."

Comment: Is that because their designs, as of right now, would not be considered lawful?

A source close to Mr Raab clarified afterwards he had been talking about the issue in general and not specifically supermarkets, adding vaccine certificates are more being thought about for international travel than domestic use.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge On Sunday, Mr Raab resisted calls from dozens of Tory MPs who are urging the government to lift restrictions in May, when all the top nine priority groups should have been offered a coronavirus vaccine.

He refused to set an "arbitrary target" and added ministers will continue to be "evidence-led".

Sky News understands the government is aiming to have all schools open on 8 March, but sources say that is dependent on the data and hospital pressures.

Comment: 100,000 UK citizens have petitioned the government to debate the issue fearing that vaccine IDs will violate their human rights. Note that, in the past, when an issue was not something the government wanted to debate, these petitions were often ignored:

The petition, which asks the British government to commit not to impose the so-called immunity passports on the general public, crossed the threshold on Sunday. Public support grew from 10,000 over 20 days ago and surged since last week, when the petition had almost 37,000 signatures.

Several similarly-themed petitions in the past attracted hundreds of thousands of supporters, indicating an enduring frustration that sections of British society have about the idea. Their concern is that vaccination status may affect not only their ability to travel to other countries -by all accounts a highly likely scenario- but also their access to social life at home. Only people certified as immune to Covid-19 would be able to go to pubs, football arenas and other public venues, they fear.

There is, however, plenty of evidence to feed the skeptics' concerns. Some preparatory work for a "Covid-19 Certification/Passport" electronic system has been ordered by the government and discovered in public-contract records.

There is also vocal support for international vaccination passports coming from public figures like former prime minister Tony Blair and some media outlets. Opponents perceive it as laying the groundwork for pushing the domestic versions of such a document.

Meanwhile other nations, such as Denmark, have said they intend to introduce digital Covid-19 passports as part of reopening their economies. Concerned Britons expect their government to come under pressure from across the Channel to follow the example.

Meanwhile, the Russian 'dictatorship' states that herd immunity should be achieved by summer with no need to mandate vaccines or their associated ID cards.