The problem with Johnson’s vaccine passports for pubs

The debate is finely balanced, writes James Moore, but while practical problems may keep the idea at bay, it may gain ground if Covid cases start to rise as Britain reopens

Should having one of these be required to enter a pub when they reopen? (AFP via Getty Images)

The prime minister’s talk about vaccine passports, and publicans turning away potential customers without one, has gone down like a pint of sour beer with the industry. It also shows signs of leaving him with a political hangover headache. 

Publicans were furious. Ditto their industry bodies, the Unite union and some backbench Tory MPs.

Let’s take the concept first. Critics particularly dislike the coercive element, which publicans, desperate to get their businesses going after months of inactivity and steadily mounting debts, would find themselves at the sharp end of.