A pub landlady was forced to turn her own daughter away because she wasn’t vaccinated against Covid-19.
Shelly Jones has refused to serve daughter Hayley inside the Minerva Inn, in Plymouth, after deciding with her husband Martin that unvaccinated customers would be banned.
Mrs Jones told ITV: ‘I’ve even had to turn away my own daughter, she hasn’t had any jabs yet.
‘She turned up at the door and I was like “sorry you can’t come in”.
‘I know it doesn’t stop it spreading, I know you can still catch it and pass it on but my old man sat in the back room is 90 and some 18-year-old comes in and cuddles him on the way through which they do after drinks have been taken on I know I’ve done everything to keep him safe.’
Mr Jones feels their decision is justified because they’re trying to protect the elderly and potentially vulnerable customers who have stayed with the business throughout the pandemic.
An unnamed pub-goer from Plymouth said he felt mistreated by the Jones’s when he was not allowed in.
He said: ‘That was a bit rubbish, because the sole reason I’m not double-jabbed was down to my age.
‘We left, we didn’t make a fuss, but the more I thought about it, the more it bugged me.’
Mr Jones said if he thought he was discriminating and breaking the law he would change his policy.
He confirmed the double-jabbed policy will stay, at least until the rates of Covid-19 start to drop significantly in Plymouth.
Mr Jones told Plymouth Live: ‘The reason behind it is that a lot of our regulars are, I would say, 55 plus, on average.”
‘When things opened back up, they said they didn’t want to come back if there was loads of youngsters there not double-jabbed, not protected.’
Mr Jones also said his policy isn’t dissimilar to what Boris Johnson and his government had been discussing with regards to vaccine passports.
But Health Secretary Sajid Javid revealed on Sunday the government will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports to enter venues with large crowds.
Ministers were previously expected to introduce a scheme by the end of the month, forcing nightclubs and other businesses hosting large events to make sure customers were double-jabbed.
The plan was fiercely opposed by industry figures who said it would harm businesses trying to recover from the pandemic.
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