Bailout to stop Britain going bust: Chancellor Rishi Sunak is warned he must pump HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of pounds into aid for stricken businesses to avoid MILLIONS losing their jobs amid coronavirus crisis
- Chancellor Rishi Sunak set to unveil package to ease impact of coronavirus
- The Prime Minister has told Britons to avoid pubs and clubs amid the outbreak
- But business owners fear that they may lose their livelihoods as firms go bust
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing demands to pump hundreds of billions of pounds into propping up UK businesses today amid fears the coronavirus lockdown could last a year.
Boris Johnson dramatically ramped up the government’s response to the crisis last night, urging Britons to avoid all ‘non-essential’ social contact, shunning pubs, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and clubs.
But the radical effort to stop the spread of the disease sparked panic among businesses, who warned they faced going bust, while the self-employed and those in the ‘gig’ economy could also struggle to work.
Venue owners have slammed the PM for not ordering them to close, saying that means they cannot claim on insurance.
Phones mogul John Caudwell this morning warned that the chaos will cost the economy ‘hundreds of billions of pounds, maybe trillions’.
He urged Mr Sunak, who is due to unveil an aid package alongside the PM later, must offer a bailout in the hundreds of billions – branding the £12billion announced in the Budget last week a joke.
‘£12billion is zero… Without help millions of people will be out of work,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been working on bailout plans for businesses hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Cases of the coronavirus across the UK have now risen to more than 1,500
Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night advised Britons to avoid pubs and clubs in a bid to control the spread of the virus. But venue owners have slammed the PM for not telling them to close
French President Emmanuel Macron last night declared ‘war’ on the coronavirus impact, announcing a £300billion fund and guaranteeing that no business in the country will go under as a result of the crisis.
In the US, some politicians have been advocating so-called ‘helicopter money’ – cash handouts to the public to help keep the economy moving.
Mr Sunak is expected to lay out ‘more help’ for sectors including pubs, theatres, clubs and cinemas as they cope with the outbreak, the paper reported.
Those who own firms in sectors including hospitality and catering could see their livelihoods destroyed as businesses go bust.
Cases of the coronavirus across the UK have now risen to 1,543, with 55 deaths; but there is likely to be many more as tests are being carried out on patients in hospital.
As he urged Britons to avoid unnecessary social contact and to start home working, the PM last night accepted that the situation was ‘difficult’.
Mr Johnson said in the Government’s nightly press conference: ‘Clearly what we are announcing today is a very substantial change in the way that we want people to live their lives and I can’t remember anything like it in my life time, I don’t think there has really been anything like it in peacetime’.
In France, shops, restaurants and all ‘non-indispensable’ businesses have been forced to shut.
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed last night in a television address that ‘no business will go bust’ because of social distancing rules in the country.
He told the French people they would have to stay home unless they were shopping for food or going to a pharmacy, going to absolutely essential work, or exercising alone.
In Germany, they announced bars, clubs, and museums will be closed to slow the spread.
In France, shops, restaurants and all ‘non-indispensable’ businesses have been forced to shut. President Macron told the French people they would have to stay home unless they were shopping for food or going to a pharmacy, going to absolutely essential work, or exercising