24 December 2021 — Big Brother Watch

BREAKING NEWS 

BIG BROTHER WATCH LAUNCHES LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST JOHNSON’S COVID IDs

We’ve just started a legal challenge against Boris Johnson’s mandatory Covid passport scheme for England.

Johnson’s draconian, discriminatory and pointless Covid IDs breach privacy rights and equality law, and must be stopped, now.

We’ve battled against Covid pass plans in parliament and the press tirelessly – and our challenge follows the biggest backbench rebellion of Johnson’s premiership, which saw 126 MPs, 99 of whom are Conservative MPs, vote against his Covid passport plans.

We said we wouldn’t give up – and now we’re seeking to stop Covid IDs in the courts.

SUPPORT THE CHALLENGE

We’re only able to start this legal challenge thanks to the incredible support of 7,109 of you who are backing the fight against Covid passports.

This latest action follows our ongoing legal challenge to the Welsh government’s Covid pass scheme. We’ll update you more on that as soon as we can, but for now we can only tell you this – if any evidence that Covid passes benefit public health even exists, the Welsh government has not been willing to provide it, even when faced with a legal challenge.

Papers, please…?

We always warned that Covid IDs would be the beginning of expansive health ID checks – not the end.

With Johnson echoing the European Commission’s calls for a ‘conversation’ about mandatory vaccines, and countries like Austria putting unvaccinated people under lockdown, it’s clear that Covid IDs are a passport to tyranny.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has already told parliament that to be considered “fully vaccinated”, we’ll soon need to show evidence of three Covid jabs; that lateral flow tests will no longer be free; and that mass sackings will soon begin for healthcare workers who aren’t fully vaccinated.

We’re lucky to live in a country where we have access to vaccines – but in a democracy, healthcare must be based on informed choices, not exploited for coercion and control.

Make no mistake. Covid IDs are safety theatre that do nothing for public health but carry real risks of harm, intrusion and division.

There are far more effective measures to keep people safe than excluding healthy people without the right health papers from society.

A breach of privacy

Our legal letter to the Government argues that their Covid pass scheme breaches the right to privacy, protected by the Human Rights Act – and by encouraging spot-checking without measures to prevent discriminatory targeting, breaches equality law. You can read it here.

No evidence

Covid IDs don’t tell you that a person doesn’t have Covid or can’t spread Covid, but do make society less free and less accessible for people.

In fact, advice from SAGE and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee in Westminster have warned that Covid passes could be ineffective, raise serious ethical issues, risk public health harms, and the latter even concluded that there is “no justification for them in the science and none in logic”.

Support the challenge

Our national campaign against mandatory Covid passes across the UK is backed by 7,109 of you who have made it possible via Crowdfunder.

With now two judicial reviews against Covid passports underway, our costs are doubling.

So please do give if you can, share news of the challenge far and wide – and the most effective thing you can do to keep us going is join us!

Help us make history – support the challenge now.

SUPPORT THE CHALLENGE