Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, following an intervention in the House of Commons on job protection, said:

“The government itself recognised today that its plan to protect jobs and wages will not feel sufficient to many, which is a stark admission of failure.

“The government also said it would ‘expect’ businesses to use the loan guarantees given to support workers, but an expectation is simply not good enough.

“It must be a requirement of loans given that no business will lay off workers, and the government should urgently bring forward a plan to underwrite the bulk of the wages of workers at risk of losing their jobs.”

“This crisis is too significant, and the impact on people’s lives is too serious, for any more delay.”