If to show proof of vaccination is desirable to help us manage the virus then let’s get off our high horses and accept the minuscule loss of freedom involved.

Interesting that Hugo Rifkind mentions France at the beginning of his piece on “Freedom” in The Times today saying that the French are different. Those twenty miles of the Channel really do keep us apart from the rest of the world eh? Except of course they don’t. No outpouring of good old English exceptionalism can obscure the truth that what is “freedom” one side of the Channel is also freedom the other side. Freedom is not a British value – it’s universal.

Rifkind demolishes the anti-vax brigade comprehensively and rightly in his article. But then he fails to point out that those who object to carrying and showing proof of their vaccination status are just as bad as the anti-vaccers. That isn’t defence of freedom one tiny bit, it’s insular and selfish arrogance.

The NHS letter showing your vaccination record is clear and uncontroversial. I’ve posted mine on social media to explain why it is a wholly benign document. To suggest that there is any loss of freedom if someone entitled to asks me to show it is perverse.

There is such a thing as society and we are all more than just being entire in ourselves and our families. We have a duty of care that goes beyond the walls of our home. Every day I leave my home, as well as when I’m in it, I must obey society’s laws. Society would descend into anarchy if there were no restraints on our freedom to act.

The virus is a deadly and unprecedented threat to us all and we all know families that have been devastated by the loss of someone dear to it. It is the duty of Government to protect us. If the judgment is that to have and show proof of vaccination is desirable to help do this let’s get off our high horses and accept the minuscule loss of freedom involved.