Dominic Raab has criticised “crass” comments from Tory MP Marcus Fysh who likened Covid passports to Nazi Germany.
Raab, whose father was a Jewish refugee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t like that kind of language and I don’t think it’s appropriate.
“Actually, I don’t think comparing what we are trying to achieve to an authoritarian or Nazi regime is quite right.
“I think a lot of people find that crass.”
Fysh, the MP for Yeovil, is one of around 70 Tory MPs who have indicated they will rebel against the government over its Plan B measures on Tuesday, in what is likely to be the biggest mutiny of Boris Johnson’s premiership.
Under the measures, mask-wearing in most indoor spaces is mandated and working from home guidance has been reinstated.
The measure that has generated the most disquiet among Tory backbenchers is covid passports, whereby double vaccination or proof of a negative lateral flow test has to be shown to enter some high-risk events.
Fysh said using covid passports would be “segregating society based on an unacceptable thing”.
“We are not a ‘papers please’ society,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday.
“This is not Nazi Germany. It’s the thin end of an authoritarian wedge and that’s why we will resist it.”
Fysh’s remarks were condemned by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which said: “It is completely unacceptable to compare the proposed vaccine passports with Nazi Germany.
“We urge people, particularly those in positions of authority, to avoid these highly inappropriate comparisons.”
Raab urged Tory rebels to back the Plan B coronavirus restrictions later today, arguing that covid passports also allowed for proof of a negative lateral flow test and not just vaccination.
“If you want to go into a crowded venue, I think most people would think that voluntarily as a matter of their own safety, but also those around them, that that is a reasonable thing to do,” he told Times Radio.
“I don’t think this is a big step or a slippery slope, but I do understand the concerns and that’s why we should have a proper debate.
“But, ultimately, I think people should vote for these measures, they are a proportionate, targeted approach given what we don’t know and the precautionary approach we need to take, just temporarily, while we get to grips with omicron.”