Michael Gove today lashed out at ‘selfish’ vaccine refusers, warning they face being barred from some events.
The Cabinet Office minister stepped up his rhetoric as the government mulls enforcing Covid passports at significant events and pubs – having already declared they will be required at nightclubs in England from September.
The comments risk fuelling a gathering Tory mutiny over the prospect of demanding proof, with a vote on the cards for September.
Keir Starmer appears to have softened his opposition to the measures by suggesting he could get on board if a negative test can be used as evidence as well as vaccination documentation.
On a visit to the Lighthouse testing lab in Glasgow, Mr Gove warned those who decline to be jabbed are ‘putting other people’s lives at risk’.
‘Ultimately, if you can be vaccinated and you refuse to, that is a selfish act,’ he said.
‘You’re putting other people’s health and lives at risk, you should get vaccinated.’
When asked if refusal to be jabbed should prevent attendance at some mass events, the minister said: ‘It depends on which part of the United Kingdom you’re in and what the nature of the event is.
‘But 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.’
Mr Gove pushed for cooperation across the UK on a Covid-19 certification measure, but stressed it would be for the devolved administrations to make their decisions on the matter.
‘I think that the more we collaborate on this, the better,’ he said.
