Gavin Williamson today became the first Cabinet minister to say he will take out a “vaccine passport” if it means being allowed back to the theatre, restaurants and cinemas again.
"I think I would probably do pretty much sort of anything to be able to enjoy all those lovely things,” the Education Secretary told LBC.
"The idea of going to a restaurant with your family or going to the theatre is something we all really want to see."
Mr Williamson’s enthusiasm is the latest sign that the idea of a document that bestows greater freedoms to people who have had the Covid-19 jab is gaining powerful momentum in Government, even though ministers were flatly denying until just a few days ago.
One idea in Government is to adapt the NHS app on smartphones to hold a proof of “vaccine status” and test results, with encryption to keep data secure and facial recognition to stop it being borrowed by other people.
Asked if such passports will become a reality, the Cabinet minister said: " There are many challenges with this and it’s really important to look right across the spectrum, at both the benefits it would bring but also some of the challenges it could bring."
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has been put in charge of a review, announced by Boris Johnson in Monday’s roadmap to recovery, of the “ethical and practical” issues that such a document would churn up.
One concern, according to ministerial sources, is that because take-up of the vaccine is lower among BAME communities, a vaccine passport might be seen as “facilitating discrimination”.
It is understood that Mr Gove’s review will investigate whether pubs and theatres could be prohibited from making access conditional on vaccination alone.
Ministers say they are looking at alternatives, including using tests that show if someone is currently infectious with Covid, to avoid discriminating against people who decline the jab for health reasons or other motivations. Tests could be used alone or combined with a vaccine proof document as well.
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Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, declined to say if he was for or against. He pointed out: “We have never lived in a society here, where we force medical treatments upon people.”
He said there were "plausible arguments for and plausible arguments against" vaccine passports but stressed that it was a political decision, not a medical one, and told Good Morning Britain it was not appropriate for him to give a personal view.
Vaccine status documents or apps are seen as inevitable because some countries say they will insist on them for passengers flying in. That means they may be needed to go on summer holidays abroad, and the Government has already paid millions of pounds in grants to support the development of apps.
A separate review will start in April to trial bigger crowds in venues like sports grounds and concerts, with fans having to show a negative test before being allowed in. These trials could also be adapted to trial vaccine passports.
The Sun today said ministers hope to test the scheme at Wembley for the European Championship football final on July 11.
