'We're a big industry that is broken': anger over plans for Covid vaccine passports in nightclubs

Plans to make Covid-19 vaccine passports mandatory at nightclubs in England have been criticised by those working in the industry in the North West

Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday 19 July that jab certificates will be required from the end of September to attend nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.

Only those who can prove they have been double-jabbed will be allowed into venues, even proof of a negative test would not be acceptable.

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Jason and Rebecca McQuoid run Project in Burnley. They say the industry is being singled out and blamed for rise in infections.

Rebecca said: "It only ever seems to be us that get these extra restrictions. We're also not given much notice. It could've been done when it was first acknowledged that we were first going to reopen."

John added: "It's almost like we're being blamed for being the Covid spread and we're a big industry that's broken right now, it needs to repair."

Zoe Muldoon talks to Aaron Mellor, owner of the Factory nightclub in Manchester.

Sacha Lord, who is the Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester and runs the Warehouse Project club nights, says the industry was blindsided by the Prime Minister's announcement.

He said: "It feels almost as if it's a carrot and stick moment and the government are now saying to the young people out there 'you need to get vaccinated if you want to enjoy your lives. I feel that is wrong. I feel that is discriminatory against many sectors of society."

A number of night time venues in the North West opened at midnight on Monday to allow people their first chance on the dancefloor in more than a year.

However, Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said during the Downing Street press conference that clubs had the potential to cause “super spreading events”.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "Some of life's most important pleasures and opportunities are likely to be increasingly dependent on vaccinations."

"Nightclubs need to do the socially responsible thing and make use of the NHS Covid Pass as a means of entry." 

These people enjoying a drink in Manchester have mixed views on the Prime Minister's passport plans:

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