Main Edition
US
FR
Is this government the most authoritarian since the days of Cromwell? It would be, argued Desmond Swayne earlier today in the House of Commons, if forthcoming vaccines became ‘immunity passports’ used to access everyday services.
“That would be absolutely disproportionate for a virus with a mortality rate verging on one percent. It would equally be a terrible precedent to set for other vaccines and medicines.”
The MP for New Forest West went on to say that coercing citizens to take the vaccine would amount to “vaccinationism”. Watch Swayne’s full comments below:
The Government would set the seal on its reputation as the most authoritarian since the Commonwealth of the 1650s should they use coercion to ensure vaccination. But it is as nothing as the enthusiasm of Labour for even more coercive and restrictive measures. pic.twitter.com/xMfxVFoAuH
— Desmond Swayne (@DesmondSwayne) December 1, 2020
On Monday the new health minister overseeing the rollout of the vaccine, Nadhim Zawahi, was asked by the BBC whether ‘immunity passports’ for those who received the new jabs were a possibility. He told the BBC: ‘We are looking at the technology.’ He added that restaurants and bars may use systems, as they had used the test and trace app, to check if people had been vaccinated.
This morning Michael Gove denied this was a possibility. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, that’s not the plan” he told BBC Breakfast. Gove did say that individual businesses will have the “capacity to make decisions about who they will admit and why”.
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
Subscribe