'Covid passports': Nightclub owners criticise double-jab plans

Nightclub owners have reacted angrily to plans to make it mandatory for people to be fully vaccinated to gain entry.

Currently venues are only encouraged to ask clubbers to show proof of vaccination, a negative test result or immunity.

But Boris Johnson has said full vaccination would become a condition of entry from September.

Some have claimed the industry is being used as "a political football".

Latest figures show 35% of 18 to 30-year-olds have not had their first jab.

The prime minister told a press conference on Monday: "I don't want to have to close nightclubs again as they have elsewhere. But it does mean nightclubs need to do the socially responsible thing."

Mr Johnson's announcement was made hours after there were jubilant scenes of clubbers returning to venues in England for the first time in more than a year.

Promoters and nightclub bosses who spoke to the BBC afterwards said the move was a further setback for their beleaguered industry.

Tony Gorbet, who runs venues across the country, including Hull's Atik, said reopening on Monday had felt "like scoring the winning goal in a cup final".

But the announcement had taken that away, he said.

"We are really disappointed. There is no difference at midnight between a late-night bar and a nightclub.

"Well there is a difference in a nightclub, because if you go into a modern, well-invested nightclub now our air changes every five minutes, it's so safe.

"The industry is starting to be used as a political football," he said.

Matt Clark, owner of XO nightclub in Spalding, Lincolnshire, said: "Clearly, there is a need to encourage those people to get vaccinated, but we live in a free world and surely they should have a choice, without losing - in Boris's words - 'the freedom that they love'.

"I think there are certainly civil liberties at risk here," he said.

Mr Clark, who said there was a New Year's Eve atmosphere when his club reopened on Monday, said it now felt like the industry was being discriminated against.

"Ultimately, if it's irresponsible to open a venue such as a nightclub, a theatre or a festival, then they should be taking the decision to keep those venues closed and support us and our staff financially."

"This is closure of the business by stealth," he said, adding that it would "decimate" his trade.

"There would literally be no point in us opening. We wouldn't risk the expense for so few customers," he added.

At Fibre in Leeds, owner Terry George said he was frustrated by the announcement and that the government was holding young people to ransom.

"It now leaves us in a difficult position that we obviously have to police this," he said.

Mr George said it was also becoming increasingly difficult to plan anything due to the government repeatedly "changing their mind".

"It's just so unpredictable and makes it really hard to trade as a business," he said.

"If they want us to stay closed until people are vaccinated... they should be funding us and making sure we are not at a loss," he added.

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In response to previous criticism of the announcement, a government spokesperson said: "We appreciate the significant impact the pandemic has had on the hospitality industry - including the night-time economy.

"[This] is why, on top of our unprecedented £352bn package of business support, just last week we launched our hospitality strategy to help the sector recover as well as boost resilience long-term."

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