Scottish nightclubs put FURNITURE on dance floors to evade Scotland's controversial vaccine passport rules

 Scottish nightclubs are putting furniture on dance floors to evade the SNP's controversial vaccine passport rules – as critics brand the scheme a 'shambolic mess'.

Lulu in Edinburgh is now advertising that it will not ask revellers to show their papers to get in after suffering a collapse in custom. On Instagram the venue boasted 'normal service' had resumed, adding: 'You don't need [a] vaccine passport to party with us.'

The venue describes itself as 'Edinburgh's best nightclub' and is open until 3am. However, under the law only venues with a space 'provided for dancing by customers' are classed as nightclubs - creating a loophole for those that cover their existing dancefloors with seating.

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Lulu in Edinburgh is now advertising that it will not ask revellers to show their papers to get in after suffering a collapse in custom 

On Instagram the venue boasted 'normal service' had resumed, adding: 'You don't need [a] vaccine passport to party with us'

Nightclubs across Scotland have copied the move, industry sources told the Telegraph.

Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative spokesman for Covid recovery, said Nicola Sturgeon's SNP government should be 'embarrassed' for overseeing 'such a mess of a scheme'.

He added: 'The vaccine passports guidance is so shambolic that places which are clearly not nightclubs are being billed as nightclubs, and places that are clearly nightclubs are managing to use loopholes to claim they're not.'

Nightclubs say footfall has plummeted since the scheme came into force on October 18.

Around 180,000 18 to 29-year-olds, or more than a fifth of the age group, have declined vaccinations.

Under the programme, revellers must show their NHS Scotland Covid Status app or an NHS paper record providing they have been fully vaccinated at large events and nightclubs.

A similar scheme exists in Wales, though not in England.

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Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative spokesman for Covid recovery, said Nicola Sturgeon's (pictured) SNP government should be 'embarrassed' for overseeing 'such a mess of a scheme'

Explaining why Lulu had decided to give up on the scheme, Innes Bolt, its Managing Director, told Edinburgh Live: 'We have experienced a significant decline in footfall resulting in a crash in our sales which meant that Lulu was running at a loss.

'To protect our staff, promoters and business, we have removed the designated dance floor and reconfigured our space. Instead, we have created a new seating area, bringing in additional furniture to occupy that space and repositioning our DJ Booth.

'This change will allow us to maintain a safe and controlled environment throughout.'

It came as thousands of rugby fans flocked to Murrayfield yesterday armed with their vaccine passports to ensure they could get in to watch Scotland take on Australia in the Autumn Nations Series.

Staff at the Edinburgh stadium checked fans, who needed to provide evidence they had been double jabbed.

Fans seemed happy to oblige as they flooded into the sell-out 67,000-capacity venue. They were even happier at full-time, after Scotland's 15-13 victory.

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Lulu said it had experienced a 'significant' decline in footfall since the controversial measure had been introduced 

However, the match came after health expert Professor Allyson Pollock slammed the vaccine passport scheme, claiming it is 'discriminatory' and 'undermines human rights'.

The clinical professor of public health at Newcastle University hit out after a report in The Lancet revealed those with double jabs can be just as likely to transmit the virus as those without.

She is urging the Scottish Government to scrap the passports, arguing they 'don't make public health sense' and noting vaccination status 'tells us nothing about whether you're infectious or transmitting at that moment in time'.

The Scottish Government said: 'Our Covid-19 vaccine certification scheme aims to reduce the risk of viral transmission, reduce the risk of serious illness and death and in doing so alleviate current and future pressure on the healthcare system.

'The scheme allows higher risk settings to continue to operate as an alternative to closure or more restrictive measures and increase vaccine uptake.

'It is therefore providing an additional layer of protection in helping to keep large events, night-time hospitality, and our economy fully open during what will potentially be a very difficult winter.'