Covid vaccine passports to allow Brits who have had jab to go on summer holidays ‘planned by Government’

THE UK is developing a "vaccine passport" system as Greece prepares to let in tourists who have had the Covid jab.

Officials at the Foreign Office are working on plans to provide Brits who have been vaccinated with an official document so they can travel to countries which may demand proof of inoculation as a condition of entry, The Times reports.

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Greek tourism chiefs reportedly said that UK tourists who have had the jab may be welcomed back as early as May.

It comes despite ministers repeatedly insisting that vaccine passports are not part of their plans.

Greece is reportedly confident that people who have received two doses of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines will have enough immunity to visit.

Tourism makes up a fifth of the country's economy which has been battered by the deadly pandemic.

It's still unclear what kind of proof Brits will need to show when they arrive in Greece.

However, tourists will still need a negative Covid test taken less than 72 hours before they arrive in the country.

Minister James Cleverly confirmed the reports today, telling Good Morning Britain: "Every country sets its own rules about who it does or doesn’t allow into its country.

"Other countries around the world may decide that they accept people who have had proof of vaccinations and as British officials always do, we work with our international partners so that we can understand what their travel rules are…so that we can properly inform British travellers."

He added: “We wouldn’t be able to dictate to other countries, we wouldn’t be able to say to a British citizen, here is your record of vaccination, you can now go anywhere you like… that would have to be a decision made by the hosting countries."

And he refused to rule out whether travellers to the UK might need them in future too.

He said: “We will see what the situation is in the future. As I say, we will be guided by the science. I am not comfortable, I don’t think it would be particularly useful for me speculating about how exactly things may well be once vaccinations around the world have been rolled out.!

According to The Times, Athens is sceptical about whether German and Russian tourists will be able to visit this summer because of their sluggish vaccine programmes.

Grigoris Tasios, of the Greece's hoteliers federation, said: “Greece has long been a favourite holiday destination for the British, and with the rate of inoculations in the UK largely outpacing all others across Europe and beyond, British travellers will be among the safest to travel here by as early as May.”

Israelis and US tourists will also reportedly be allowed to visit Greece due to the successful roll out of their vaccines.

Last month, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis told EU chiefs there needs to be a “common understanding” on vaccine passports to help kick start travel the summer season.

Although he stopped short of saying they should be made mandatory for travel he said a formal jab certificate would encourage people to get inoculated.

In a letter to EU Commission President Urusla Von de Leyen, he said: “It is urgent to adopt a common understanding on how a vaccination certificate should be structured so as to be accepted in all member-states.

The Greek PM added: “Ensuring the quickest possible re-establishment of freedom of movement … is, of necessity, a fundamental priority for us all."

But he said it would not be a condition of travel to Greece adding he is “not going to make vaccination compulsory or a prerequisite for travel, persons who have been vaccinated should be free to travel.

"For countries such as Greece, which are dependent on tourism, it's imperative that this issue is resolved before the summer season.”

Sir Jonathan Montgomery, who was on the Ethics Advisory panel for the NHS app, warned Number 10 needed to think about vaccine certificates.

He told Times Radio: “The government is saying it's not planning to introduce passports, but we're already seeing, for example some airlines identifying that they will expect people to demonstrate their status, before they travel.

“So I think we have to be thinking about this.”

He added: “What we don't want to do is to undermine the response to the virus by dividing society and pitting people against each other, and there's a definite risk that the private use of these possible ideas could do that.