UK officials will discuss Covid vaccine passports with EU, meaning travel to Europe could be on the horizon. 

Downing Street indicated that UK officials would discuss the European Union’s plans for a coronavirus passport with counterparts in Brussels.

The European Commission has set out plans for a “digital green pass” which would record vaccination status and test results and could unlock travel for work and tourism.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We have said that we are looking at the issue of vaccine passports.

“As you can expect, DfT (the Department for Transport) will work and do speak to countries across the world in terms of how they may look to introduce passports.”

The spokesman would not pre-empt the outcomes of the UK Government’s review.

But “of course you can expect us to speak to the EU and other countries on how they may implement any similar sorts of policies”.

It comes as Labour’s Nick Thomas-Symonds said he has written to Home Secretary Priti Patel calling for stricter measures at the border, in light of the Brazilian variant being discovered in the UK.

Brazil is said to be similar to the variant from South Africa, with their mutations thought to increase transmissibility.