THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS will campaign for covid passports to be abolished in Scotland following the UK Government’s decision to scrap them in England.
Sajid Javid, the UK Government health secretary, announced the plans to introduce the passes had been dropped this morning.
Now the Scottish Liberal Democrats say Holyrood minsters should follow suit, claiming a victory in Westminster.
The party has opposed such measures since they were first discussed earlier in the pandemic, branding them intrusive and an impingement on people’s liberties.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scottish LibDem leader, said the move by Westminster showed ministers had more concern for privacy than the SNP and Greens.
He said: “This is a triumph for privacy campaigners and my Liberal Democrat colleagues in Westminster.
“It’s sad to see that the Conservative government in Westminster has more concern for medical privacy than the SNP-Green coalition in Scotland does.
“The solution to the current crisis is vaccinations and a functioning contact tracing system, not Covid ID cards.
“You shouldn’t have to share your private medical information with someone who is not your clinician.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats will campaign for these illiberal and intrusive ID cards to be abolished here in Scotland.”
MSPs voted on the introduction of covid passports last week at Holyrood, with the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour opposing the measures, while the SNP and Greens voted them through.
Concerns were raised about the lack of detail in the plans, with an app supposed to provide evidence of covid vaccine status by the end of this month.
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