Exclusive: Covid passports for return to normal life may not be ready for months

Covid passports designed to return life to normal in Britain might not be ready until the autumn, The Telegraph can reveal.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, will on Monday confirm for the first time that a system is being developed that will allow people to return to sporting matches, theatres and other major public events, as well as travelling overseas for holidays.

The Government is trying to find a way to prove it is safe for people to gather at crowded events by either presenting proof of being vaccinated, or a recent negative test or being protected with antibodies from having the infection within the last six months.

Pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail will still be allowed to open in coming weeks according to the Government’s roadmap as long as they follow Covid-safe guidance.

Writing in The Telegraph Michael Gove, who is leading a cross-government consultation on the moral and practical issues presented by Covid certificates, said they could "allow us to relax social distancing rules more quickly".

But senior government sources warned that the new certification scheme – which will most likely work over a mobile app – would take “months, not weeks” to develop.

Another insider said the app, which could also be used to gain entry to bars and nightclubs, is unlikely to be ready before September. One source said: “I don’t expect it to be until much later in the year.”

The news came as it emerged that grandparents could be asked to scan Covid passport apps before allowing family members into their birthday parties under plans drawn up by a Danish company developing an app for the UK Government.

A separate “social distancing review” is considering whether vaccine passports could mean that the Government can “safely lift the one metre-plus rule and the working from home guidance”, No 10 said on Saturday.

Mr Gove makes clear there is “a host of practical and ethical questions we have to answer before we can consider a wider rollout”. These include how to treat fairly people who cannot be vaccinated.

“We [will] have to ensure access to certification through testing or natural immunity as an alternative,” he says.

Mr Gove says he is worried not to “exclude those who do not have a smartphone, so we’re exploring paper-based complements to the app. Privacy and data security must be watertight".

He adds: “These questions aren’t easy to resolve but I don’t think we can duck them… At the moment, businesses could set up their own private certification schemes and use them to restrict access. Nightclubs and other venues already police entry.

“Some may well want to embrace any tool available to signal to visitors they are at low risk of infection. So we are looking closely at how we can guarantee fairness.”

The news came as Mr Johnson hailed “another milestone in our vaccination programme with over five million people now having had their second jab”.

More than half of the over-80s who are most at risk of dying from contracting Covid-19 have now had their second injection of the coronavirus vaccine.

The plans for how to manage the release of the lockdown will be put to a meeting of the Cabinet on Monday and then unveiled by a press conference hosted by the Prime Minister in the evening.

Covid passports were “expected to be most useful in managing risks where large numbers of people are in close proximity, at mass events such as festivals, sports matches and nightclubs”, No 10 said.

They are likely to contain details of either someone’s up-to-date vaccine status, a recent negative Covid test result or proof of natural immunity for 180 days.

However, ministers will gather evidence over the next few weeks to assess their “economic and public health impacts” in other settings like pubs and bars.

But Mr Gove said: "I believe there are some places you should never have to demonstrate your Covid status to access - essential services such as the supermarket, the chemist or the GP surgery."

The passports will be trialled at nine different events this month and next month including three football matches at Wembley in London - including the FA Cup Final - the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, a nightclub and comedy club in Liverpool, and a “mass participation run” at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.

Mr Johnson said: “We have made huge strides over the past few months with our vaccine programme and everyone in the country has made huge sacrifices to get us to this stage in our recovery from Covid-19.

“We are doing everything we can to enable the reopening of our country so people can return to the events, travel and other things they love as safely as possible, and these reviews will play an important role in allowing this to happen.”

The scale of opposition to Covid passports among Tory MPs could mean that the Prime Minister has to rely on Labour votes to get the vaccine passports through the Commons.

Senior figures in the whips' office say it is likely that a vote on the floor of the House of Commons will be needed to bring in domestic vaccine passports.

One Cabinet minister said that half of the party’s backbenches could vote against the measures.

The minister said: “I do not think the majority of the Conservative Party is comfortable in certifying people to go to the pub or the shop or the theatre.

“That sounds a little bit East German to me and I don’t think it will carry a majority of the Conservative Party, let alone the Commons.”

If Labour votes against Covid passports then the plans could be defeated in the Commons. Last week Sir Keir Starmer, the party’s leader, told The Telegraph that it was “unBritish” to require them to be used in everyday social activities once the pandemic has eased.

Mr Johnson will also confirm on Monday that all countries will be put into a green, amber or red list once international travel is allowed again after May 17.

Countries will be ranked by their vaccination programme, the infection rates, the prevalence of variants of concern and countries' access to genomic sequencing.

There will be no isolation requirement for travel from countries in the new green category, although pre-departure and post-arrival tests will still be needed.

The "red" and "amber" restrictions would remain as they are now, with the requirement to enter quarantine or self-isolation upon return.

Families will be urged to wait until the traffic light list is published at the beginning of next month before booking any overseas holidays.

The plans come in on May 17 and countries will only be put on the travel list a week or two before that date.