THE owners of a nightclub in Oldham are furious at Boris Johnson's decision to introduce vaccine passports to their industry.

On Monday, the Prime Minister announced full vaccination is to become a condition of entry into clubs and other crowded venues from September.

This is a change to the current conditions, which ask clubbers to show proof of immunity, vaccination or a negative test result.

And Peter Marks, CEO of REKOM UK, which owns Oldham's Liquid and Envy, thinks that the Government is using clubs as 'a political football'.

He said: "To say we're disappointed by the Government’s u-turn is an understatement.

"Jonathan Van-Tam’s talk of his party in his garden shed shows how little the Government and their scientists understand the modern club," he added, referring to a comment made by the deputy chief medical officer at the press conference.

Mr Marks suggested that clubs have better ventilation than most other venues, and that there is 'no difference' between a club and a pub at midnight.

He said: "We're no more than a political football. Mandatory passports may make sense once the entire adult population has been offered vaccines, but does the Government think this threat will entice the vaccine wary to take the vaccine?

"They'll just stay later in the pubs and hold their parties in their houses."

Boris Johnson's announcement came on the same day as Liquid and Envy and other clubs opened for the first time in 16 months.

The club on Oldham's Retiro Street held a 'Time To Dance' event on Sunday, then a 'Straight Outta Lockdown' event on Monday.

A spokesperson for Liquid and Envy described the opening as 'epic', before going on to underline the range of safety measures in place at the venue.

They said: "Our opening was epic, with over 500 guests enjoying an amazing night out. The atmosphere was electric, with a real sense of joy as clubbers celebrated their first night of freedom.

"As well as giving our guests a great night out, we want to make sure they are safe, so will continue to have hand sanitisers throughout the venue, enhanced cleaning regimes and our ventilation system is state of the art, with air changing every five minutes to rival any operating theatre."