Plans for Covid passports allowing vaccinated people to access pubs and restaurants are reportedly being looked at again by the Government.
Previous plans were shelved when ministers switched focus away from hospitality venues and towards travel and large events.
Now it has been reported that the plan for so-called ' Covid certification' could be back on the table.
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The Daily Mail reports that a review into the scheme, led by Michael Gove, is examining whether they could be used to allow venues like pubs, restaurants and theatres to remain open even if cases rise later this year.
It would reportedly be used via a new function on the NHS app allowing people in England to demonstrate their vaccination status, reports The Mirror.
A Whitehall source told the paper the scheme could be used to keep open a much wider range of venues if a surge of the virus happens this winter.
The source said: "The reason we are trialling Covid certification this summer is partly to get mass events open more safely with bigger crowds, but also partly to get people used to the idea.
"We hope that with high vaccination rates we will be in a very different position this winter. But if we do find ourselves in a dire situation then certification could be a tool in our armoury to keeps things open that might otherwise have to close."
Dozens of Tory MPs are said to have warned they will vote against the use of Covid passports in pubs but ministers are said to believe opposition may soften if the alternative is to close parts of the economy.
Ministers were first reported to be discussing the potential for Covid passports in February, weeks after England was plunged into a third lockdown.
A review found Covid passports would have “significant implications” for pubs and “this will be further considered in consultation with industry."
