QUESTION: what does the path back to freedom look like? Answer: a mobile phone app. Possibly.

As that light at the end of the long Covid tunnel gets brighter, the hope of going to a pub or restaurant, a football match and a longed-for foreign holiday draws nearer.

The facilitator to a return to normality could be a Covid-status certificate or “vaccine passport”.

The idea is simple. Once you have had your jab/jag, the information is downloaded onto the NHS app on your mobile phone and like millions of us who now use barcodes on our devices to travel or go to the cinema, we would scan them to enter a pub, hotel, sports ground or theatre and even schools, hospitals and workplaces to prove we are Covid-free and able to mingle. They would also be used to skip quarantine controls when travelling abroad.

Sadly, while it all sounds straightforward in theory, it may not prove so in practice.

As Boris Johnson admitted, using a vaccine passport involves “deep and complex” ethical issues, involving health matters, data protection and civil liberties.

Fears have arisen that vaccine passports could create a two-tier system, which discriminates against those unable to have the jab, such as pregnant women and people with immune problems or allergic reactions. One can see how this whole matter could end up in court.

For weeks, UK ministers insisted vaccine passports might be needed for international travel but there were no plans to introduce them domestically.

The ghost of the ID cards controversy briefly made its presence felt as the PM admitted the notion of showing a document before being able to do something would be a “novelty for our country”.

Liberty is our birthright that should not be constrained by Government. Only in exceptional circumstances is this changed; yet with Covid, perhaps this is the rub.

Just a few days ago, Nadhim Zahawi, the Vaccines Minister, branded the idea of vaccine passports “wrong” and “discriminatory” in a domestic setting, a view backed by Downing Street.

Yet, now, it seems No 10 has had a change of heart and believes the idea is worth considering; possibly because businesses are looking seriously at it to make their workplaces safe for all.

The Prime Minister has asked his Cabinet Office gofer, Michael Gove, to instigate a review, which will cover not only vaccination history but also negative Covid tests being recorded on the app to gain access to events and services.

The result of the Scot’s investigation should be completed by June 21 when, in England at least, the hope is the lockdown will be over and our lives will, for the most part, be handed back to us.

Yesterday, EU leaders met to discuss the dilemma that is vaccine passports. Those member states that rely heavily on tourism like Spain and Greece are keen to use them but others less so.

Some oppose the move on libertarian grounds with one French right-wing politician, warning of the creation of a “zombie society; control, tracing, surveillance”.

The World Health Organisation argued against using vaccine passports on health grounds because of the “critical unknowns” on the efficacy of inoculation in reducing transmission.

It also warned the scarce supply of doses could be diverted away from vulnerable people if they suddenly become of value to travellers needing a vaccine passport. Which raises the prospect of a lucrative black market being created to enable some people to go abroad.

At home, where would you draw the line over access? Would you have to show your vaccine passport to not only visit a pub or cinema but also to go to work, visit your child’s school, a supermarket, a GP or a pharmacy?

However, ex-PM David Cameron broke cover to suggest people should prepare to get their vaccine passports.

He said: “There’ll be a number of different ways and places where people will want to know ‘have you been vaccinated’ before you join this event, this party, this whatever. So, it’s coming.”

Earlier this week, Nicola Sturgeon said: “We should think properly, without closing our minds at this stage, to what a vaccine passport or certificate might offer us.”

But the First Minister made clear she would never support something that “deepens social inequalities” or “took away people’s civil liberties” based on their medical history.

Yet things are already happening on the ground and events look as though they might already be ahead of Mr Gove’s review,

Haris Theoharis, the Greek Tourism Minister, revealed early technical discussions were already under way with UK officials about how a vaccine passport scheme might work.

As far back as January, Iceland issued vaccine certificates; Greece, Cyprus, Sweden and Portugal are among those, which have followed suit, while Spain is compiling a database of vaccine refusers.

Last week, Israel announced vaccinated people would be able to download a certificate enabling them to work out in gyms and attend cultural events.

So, it could be that the UK Government is simply overtaken on this issue as businesses here and governments abroad introduce their own requirements and make a vaccine passport system a fait accompli.

One way or another Covid’s long, sticky fingers are going to be reaching into our lives for some time to come. Normality beckons. But not just yet.