A government aide has said vaccine passports are an "affront to British and democratic values" and "do not work".

       Joy Morrissey MP - who last week accused Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, of trying to turn Britain into a “public health socialist state” - has hit out at the measures, which limit admissions to nightclubs and large events to those who have been vaccinated against Covid.

       She voted last week in favour of the Government’s Plan B, which includes vaccine passports, saying that she backed the Covid testing element of the measures.

       Writing in her Conservative Party blog, Ms Morrissey said: “I have been very troubled by the notion of so-called vaccine passports. My instinct is that they are an affront to British and democratic values and the evidence seems clear that they do not work.

       “However, I am persuaded that what the Government has come forward with puts the focus on testing, with Covid certification as a secondary measure, allowing an exemption to testing. I will support the Prime Minister in this as there is no compulsion to use them, testing is the focus and this seems like a sensible step for high-risk venues.

       “I would have preferred that testing was the sole element of this policy and I will be urging the Government to drop the use of Covid certification from any future policy decisions. Fortunately, these are temporary measures that will expire in January of next year, when we will have a better idea of what we are facing.”

       Ms Morrissey hit out at Mr Whitty in response to him urging the public to restrict their social mixing at Christmas in a bid to avoid transmission of the omicron variant.

       The MP for Beaconsfield and a parliamentary aide to the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, tweeted on December 16: “Perhaps the Covid unelected public health spokesperson should defer to what our ELECTED Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister have decided.

       “I know it’s difficult to remember but this is not how democracy works. This is not a public health socialist state.”

       She later deleted the post and reformulated her views in milder language, acknowledging that expert advice is “important”, but reiterating that ministers must take decisions.

       At the time, Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said the Prime Minister did not agree with the view expressed by Ms Morrissey.

       “Professor Whitty is a hugely respected and trusted public servant, who provides independent, evidence-based advice,” he said.