The looming jobs crisis is beginning to bite after the number of employees plunged by 649,000 since lockdown began in the fastest slump on record, while pay has also begun to fall.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak defended his furlough scheme saying that the figures show the scheme has been "effective in protecting millions of people from unemployment".

Questions have also been raised about whether the government's coronavirus package is new money or recycled, but the Chancellor was quick to say that these are "new initiatives with new funding".

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