Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a huge coronavirus bailout to cover the wages of millions of workers and stop firms going bankrupt.
He said the government will cover 80% of salaries up to £2,500 a month, with workers staying on the books of employers as Britain braced for the next stage of its battle to defeat the virus. £30billion of VAT bills will be deferred, and there will be a £7billion boost to welfare to support the most vulnerable in what is the biggest single government intervention in the economy since WWII. "For the first time in our history the government is going to step in and help pay people's wages," Mr Sunak said Boris Johnson said the government would temporarily support workers "directly in a way government never has done