Hospitality industry reacts to talk of covid vaccination certificates on doorstep

Restaurants industry leaders strongly condemned Boris Johnson's suggestion that pubs could reject customers if they could not prove they were vaccinated, branded the idea "simply unworkable" and warned that it would "almost certainly result in breaches of equality rules"

On Wednesday the PM told MPs that introducing a requirement for a passport to enter a pub 'may be up to individual publicans, it may be up to the landlord'.

Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove is looking at the possible use of coronavirus certificates that the government said could help knock out social care regulations and reopen the economy.

But the proposal has triggered an outcry from British hotel industry leaders who say the idea is unworkable and likely to put strain on hotel workers who they must enforce.

Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality said: 'It's crucial that visiting the pub and other parts of hospitality should not be subject to mandatory vaccination certification. It is simply unworkable, would cause conflict between staff and customers and almost certainly result in breaches of equality rules.

Emma McClarkin, chairman of the British Beer and Pub Association, also spoke out against the measure: "Our sector has already gone to extraordinary lengths to prepare for reopening and we do not believe a requirement for pubs to check whether someone has had the vaccine would be appropriate or necessary.

Nick Mackenzie, boss of pub chain Greene King, dismissed the idea as "would be impractical, could be discriminatory" saying it was "unacceptable" that its workers, half of whom are younger than 25, should be "to have to police these measures and deal with the fall-out from the significant number of customers who won't have received a vaccine"

Jonathan Neame told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'The whole essence of a pub is that they are diverse and inclusive environments, where everybody, and families in particular, are extremely welcome.