PM wants to avoid COVID vaccine passports ‘if we possibly can’ – but will keep them ‘in reserve’
Boris Johnson has said the government wants to avoid the introduction of COVID vaccine passports in England “if we possibly can”, but added they would be an option to be kept “in reserve”.
The prime minister, who will on Tuesday set out his plan to deal with coronavirus during the upcoming autumn and winter months, said he would “do everything that’s right to protect the country”.
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Javid on why he’s against COVID passports
Ministers had previously planned to make proof of two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine a condition of entry to nightclubs and other crowded venues in England by the end of this month.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said, under those plans, that a negative coronavirus test would “no longer be sufficient proof” that a person was COVID-safe.
Amid a backlash from some Conservative MPs and nightclub owners, the government is now set to ditch the immediate introduction of COVID vaccine passports, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid this weekend revealing the plans “will not be going ahead”.
However, both Mr Javid and now Mr Johnson have admitted they could yet be an option in future months.
Ahead of a news conference on Tuesday – at which he will appear alongside England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and the government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance – the prime minister said he would be “giving a full update on the plans for the autumn and winter”.
Asked about the possible introduction of vaccine passports during a visit to a British Gas training academy in Leicestershire on Monday, Mr Johnson added: “What we want to do is avoid vaccine passports if we possibly can, and that’s the course we’re on.
“But I think you’ve got to be prudent, and you’ve got to keep things in reserve in case things change.”
The prime minister also declined to rule out the prospect of another lockdown this winter.
“We’ve got to do everything that’s right to protect the country,” he said. “But the way things are going at the moment, we’re very confident in the steps that we’ve taken.”
Boris Johnson has also refused to rule out another lockdown, but is confident one won’t be needed
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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday the use of COVID vaccine passports “should never prevent people getting essential services”.
He added they could “possibly” be used for “some events” but should be used “in conjunction with tests”, so that people had an alternative option to prove their COVID status.
“There should always be an alternative – either double vaccination or a negative test,” Sir Keir said.
Asked whether he would endorse another lockdown, the Labour leader said the best way to avoid one was to “go cautiously and to continue with practical measures like masks on public transport and enclosed spaces”.
The Scottish government is persisting with plans to introduce the use of COVID vaccine passports for over-18s – without the alternative of a negative test result – for attendance at venues such as nightclubs or indoor seated events of 500 or more attendees, unseated outdoor live events with more than 4,000 people in the audience and “any event, of any nature, which has more than 10,000 people in attendance”.
Speaking at the SNP’s conference on Monday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon suggested the measure could prevent further restrictions being implemented.
“All of these basic mitigations make a difference,” she said.
“So too will the limited system of vaccine certification approved by parliament last week. I hope it won’t be necessary for long.
“But if the simple act of showing that we’ve been vaccinated helps keep businesses open and our lives free of restrictions, then I believe it will be worth it.”
Politics
University tuition fee rise branded ‘morally wrong’ – as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson defends increase
The education secretary has said no decision has been made on whether university tuition fees will increase with inflation each year.
Bridget Phillipson has announced the maximum cap on tuition fees in England will go up in line with inflation from April 2025.
The cost of tuition will increase by £285 to £9,535 next year – the first rise in eight years.
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There will also be a rise in maximum maintenance loans to increase in line with inflation, giving an increase of £414 a year to help students with living costs.
However, the education secretary did not say if the rise would continue after that.
Speaking to Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, Ms Phillipson admitted she did not know what would happen with tuition fees after April 2026.
“We’re going to look at this and the maintenance support and the sector overall as part of the reform that we intend to set out in the months to come,” she said.
“So no decision, no decision has been taken on what happens beyond this.”
She said the government will be looking at “what is required… to get our universities on a more sustainable footing… but also to deliver a better deal for students as a part of that”.
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University tuition fees to increase
The minister said she also “intends to look at” uprating the threshold at which students need to start paying tuition fees back in line with inflation.
Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said the tuition fee rise was “economically and morally wrong”.
She said: “Taking more money from debt-ridden students and handing it to overpaid underperforming vice-chancellors is ill conceived and won’t come close to addressing the sector’s core issues.”
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The National Union of Students (NUS) said students were being asked to “foot the bill” to keep the lights and heating on in their universities and to prevent their courses from closing down amid the “crisis”.
Alex Stanley, vice president for higher education of the NUS, said: “This is, and can only ever be, a sticking plaster.
“Universities cannot continue to be funded by an ever-increasing burden of debt on students.”
Universities have been making up for fees being frozen since 2017/18 by taking in international students who pay more.
However, student visa numbers have fallen after the previous government made it more difficult for them to come to the UK recently, so universities can no longer rely on the fees.
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Dame Priti Patel has made a comeback as Kemi Badenoch has appointed her shadow foreign secretary, Sky News understands.
Ms Badenoch, who became Conservative leader on Saturday, started officially appointing her shadow cabinet on Sunday evening.
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On Monday afternoon, the two biggest jobs were confirmed, with former home secretary Ms Patel being given the shadow foreign secretary role.
Former shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, who ran in the Tory leadership race and is considered more of a moderate than Ms Badenoch, has been made shadow chancellor.
Robert Jenrick, who lost out to Ms Badenoch, is the new shadow justice secretary, sources told Sky News.
Earlier in the day, Laura Trott, who served as chief secretary to the Treasury under Rishi Sunak, was appointed shadow education secretary.
The new Tory leader made her first appointments on Sunday evening ahead of her new top team meeting for the first time on Tuesday.
Mel Stride was work and pensions secretary and stood to be Tory leader
Now the Conservatives are in opposition, the shadow cabinet’s role is to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government and to offer alternative policies.
Nigel Huddleston and Dominic Johnson, junior ministers under Mr Sunak, were appointed joint chairmen of the Conservative Party.
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The role involves overseeing the party’s headquarters, where staff and committee members have their offices.
Essex MP Dame Rebecca Harris was confirmed as chief whip after the interim chief whip Stuart Andrew said she was replacing him.
She will be responsible for ensuring Tory MPs attend and vote in parliament as the party leadership desires.
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Former foreign secretary James Cleverly, who came third in the leadership race, said on Friday he would not be joining Ms Badenoch’s top team.
Ex-prime minister Mr Sunak, his former deputy Sir Oliver Dowden, ex-chancellor Jeremy Hunt and former Brexit, health, and environment secretary Steve Barclay have all said they will be joining him on the backbenches.
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