Anti-vaccine passport messaging displayed in shopping centres ‘very concerning’

The adverts, which have so far been seen in Belfast's Castlecourt shopping centre and Newtownabbey's Abbey Centre, were placed by privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch.

The screens on which they’re displayed are operated by advertising company Clear Channel. They have been contacted for a response.

Britain-based group Big Brother Watch recently said they'd joined with other similar groups to write to every political representative in Stormont setting out their rights and equality concerns around "mandatory" Covid passes in Northern Ireland.

In a tweet on Saturday, they said: "With Northern Ireland set to hold a vote on discriminatory Covid passports within days... we're on the front line! Our billboards are all over Northern Ireland this weekend."

The slogans carried on the billboards include: "They want a checkpoint society", "we want a free future" and the url of an anti-vaccine passport website.

The vaccine certification scheme will require hospitality venues which serve alcohol to ask customers for proof of vaccination or a negative test result and is set to take effect on November 29.

Unlicensed premises in Northern Ireland such as coffee shops and cafes will not have to enforce the rules and there will be a two-week grace period before fines are imposed on venues that fail to comply.

Alliance councillor Danny Donnelly criticised the billboards. He condemned reports of "anti-vaccine passport messages being promoted on multiple screens in [the Abbey Centre]." He continued: "This is undermining public health response to Covid and should be turned off ASAP."

He said reports of similar messaging in Castlecourt was "very concerning". "It would appear that these ad spaces have been booked by a lobby group that is bent on undermining public health messages on Covid," he said.

Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said the messages were "absolutely shocking". He said they were "putting the lives of shop workers and others at risk by encouraging this message".

Castlecourt Shopping Centre and the Abbey Centre have both been contacted for a response, as has Big Brother Watch.