Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

'We will rise to this challenge': Rishi Sunak

RISHI SUNAK started off his maiden Budget statement on Wednesday (11) with focus on a £30-billion package to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, assuring the nation that “we will get through this—together”.

The chancellor said the NHS will get “whatever extra resources” it needed to cope with COVID-19, and pledged financial assistance of over “£2bn for up to 2 million businesses”.


He announced an emergency fund of £5 billion for the NHS, noting that 50,000 nurses, 40 hospitals and 50 million GP appointments will be added.

“I want to get straight to the issue most on everyone’s mind: coronavirus COVID19,” he said. “I know how worried people are. Worried about their health, the health of their loved ones, their jobs, their income, their businesses, their financial security.

“And I know they get even more worried when they turn on their TVs and hear talk of markets collapsing and recessions coming. People want to know what’s happening, and what can be done to fix it.”

Sunak stressed on implementing an “economic response” that would bring “stability and security”.

“Let me say this: We will get through this—together, he added. “The British people may be worried, but they are not daunted. We will protect our country and our people. We will rise to this challenge.”

He acknowledged that there would be a “temporary disruption to our economy”.

On the supply side, he noted, “up to a fifth of the working age population could need to be off work at any one time”, adding that business supply chains were “being disrupted around the globe”.

“This combination,” he said, “will mean that for a period our productive capacity will shrink. There will also be an impact on the demand side of the economy, through a reduction in consumer spending.”

The chancellor underlined that the immediate priority was to “provide security and support for those who get sick or can’t work through funding our public services, and a strengthened safety net”.

The government will also “provide a bridge for businesses”, so that the “temporary impact” does not have a lasting effect.

The government response, he said, will be “temporary, timely and targeted”.

Sunak said: “This is the right response—and at the right time. That response is closely coordinated with the Bank of England.

“The Governor and I have been in constant communication about the evolving situation and our responses have been carefully designed to be complementary and to have maximum impact, consistent with our independent responsibilities.”

Incidentally, just ahead of the Budget, the Bank of England announced a rate cut. “At its special meeting ending on 10 March 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to reduce Bank Rate by 50 basis points to 0.25%,” said a BoE statement.

The apex bank also announced a new term-funding scheme for small and medium-sized businesses, and steps to boost lending by commercial banks.

On the health front, Sunak said there would be no paucity of support for UK's healthcare system.

“Whatever extra resources our NHS needs to cope with COVID-19—it will get,” he said.

“So, whether it’s research for a vaccine, recruiting thousands of returning staff, or supporting our brilliant doctors and nurses….

“Whether its millions of pounds or billions of pounds… whatever it needs, whatever it costs, we stand behind our NHS.”

Estimating that about 20 per cent of the workforce could be kept away from duties, the chancellor said he was taking a “significant step” considering the “exceptional circumstances”.

“For businesses with fewer than 250 employees… I have decided that the cost of providing statutory sick pay to any employee off work due to coronavirus… will, for up to 14 days, be met by the government in full. That could provide over £2bn for up to 2 million businesses.”

As of today morning, the UK had registered six deaths and 382 confirmed coronavirus cases, including health minister Nadine Dorries.

More For You

Modi arrives in Saudi Arabia to strengthen strategic ties

Prime minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (22)

Modi arrives in Saudi Arabia to strengthen strategic ties

INDIA’S prime minister Narendra Modi arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Tuesday (22) for his third visit as prime minister to the oil-rich Gulf kingdom.

The trip came a day after Modi held talks with US vice-president JD Vance in India, with New Delhi looking to seal a trade deal with Washington and stave off punishing tariffs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Veterans urge nation to 'unite and remember' in VE Day letter

Samina Mahroof, a cutter at the JW Plant Flag Company works on flag orders ahead of the VE Day 80th anniversary on March 18, 2025 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Veterans urge nation to 'unite and remember' in VE Day letter

TEN surviving Second World War veterans, including three from the British Indian Army, have written an open letter urging people across the UK to come together and remember the sacrifices made during the war.

Launched on Wednesday (23) by the /Together Coalition, the letter is part of a wider campaign marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, which falls on May 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vinay Narwal

Lieutenant Vinay Narwal of the Indian Navy, 26, from Haryana, was among those killed in the attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Photo: X/@indiannavy

Navy officer on honeymoon, grandfather vacationing with grandkids among 26 killed in Kashmir attack

LIEUTENANT Vinay Narwal of the Indian Navy had been married just six days earlier. He was on his honeymoon in Pahalgam when he was shot in the head by a terrorist while eating bhelpuri with his wife.

Manjunatha, a tourist from Karnataka, was asked if he was Hindu or Muslim before being shot dead.

Keep ReadingShow less
Who is Saifullah Kasuri, the  mastermind behind Pahalgam attack?

Saifullah Kasuri

Who is Saifullah Kasuri, the  mastermind behind Pahalgam attack?

THE tourist town of Pahalgam in India's Jammu and Kashmir witnessed one of the worst terror attacks in the region on Tuesday (22) since the abrogation of Article 370. A group of heavily armed terrorists opened fire on unsuspecting tourists at Baisaran meadow, killing 26 people and injuring many more.

The attack sent shockwaves across the country and drew condemnation from leaders both in India and abroad. Within hours, a group known as The Resistance Front (TRF), widely believed to be a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hertfordshire Police treat vandalism of Muslim graves as Islamophobic hate crime

The damage to plaques at Carpenders Park Cemetery has sparked outrage in the Muslim community

Hertfordshire Police treat vandalism of Muslim graves as Islamophobic hate crime

Grant Williams

HERTFORDSHIRE Police have said they are “confident” the desecration of Muslim graves at a cemetery in north London “was a religiously motivated act”.

The leader of the council that owns the cemetery visited the site last week to speak to grieving families following the horrific incident.

Keep ReadingShow less