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| UK does not need to copy US ban on flights from EU, says Sunak | UK does not need to copy US ban on flights from EU, says Sunak |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Chancellor says travel bans ‘are not going to have material effect’ on spread of infections | Chancellor says travel bans ‘are not going to have material effect’ on spread of infections |
| Britain does not need to follow the US in imposing a ban on flights from Europe as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, Rishi Sunak has said. | Britain does not need to follow the US in imposing a ban on flights from Europe as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, Rishi Sunak has said. |
| “The evidence here does not support that,” the chancellor said as he played down the chances of the UK replicating Donald Trump’s move to suspend travel from the continent for 30 days. Flights from the UK and Ireland are exempt. | |
| Sunak was speaking the morning after the budget and as Boris Johnson prepared to chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee that will consider if efforts to contain the virus have been exhausted and the UK should move to a new phase to delay its spread. | Sunak was speaking the morning after the budget and as Boris Johnson prepared to chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee that will consider if efforts to contain the virus have been exhausted and the UK should move to a new phase to delay its spread. |
| The health secretary, Matt Hancock, will also meet Labour counterparts later on Thursday to agree a plan to push emergency coronavirus laws through parliament next week. | The health secretary, Matt Hancock, will also meet Labour counterparts later on Thursday to agree a plan to push emergency coronavirus laws through parliament next week. |
| “With regard to flight bans we are always guided by the science as we make our decisions here. The advice we are getting is that there isn’t evidence that interventions like closing borders or travel bans are going to have a material effect on the spread of the infections,” Sunak told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. | “With regard to flight bans we are always guided by the science as we make our decisions here. The advice we are getting is that there isn’t evidence that interventions like closing borders or travel bans are going to have a material effect on the spread of the infections,” Sunak told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. |
| The chancellor also acknowledged the impact of coronavirus on the government after two health ministers – Nadine Dorries and Edward Argar – and another unnamed cabinet minister were forced to self-isolate. | The chancellor also acknowledged the impact of coronavirus on the government after two health ministers – Nadine Dorries and Edward Argar – and another unnamed cabinet minister were forced to self-isolate. |
| But Sunak came under pressure to have a coronavirus test himself after telling Sky News broadcaster Kay Burley that he had not done so when she suggested that it would be responsible for him to do so. | But Sunak came under pressure to have a coronavirus test himself after telling Sky News broadcaster Kay Burley that he had not done so when she suggested that it would be responsible for him to do so. |
| “Close proximity to that person [Dorries] would be defined as having been in two metres of them for about 15 minutes. Obviously that is not something that I have done. Otherwise I would have been contacted by Public Health England and had the contact testing.” | “Close proximity to that person [Dorries] would be defined as having been in two metres of them for about 15 minutes. Obviously that is not something that I have done. Otherwise I would have been contacted by Public Health England and had the contact testing.” |
| Sunak reiterated a promise in Wednesday’s budget do “whatever it takes” to support households and businesses through the worst of the coronavirus outbreak as the global health emergency threatens to plunge Britain into a recession and unleash widespread social and economic disruption. | Sunak reiterated a promise in Wednesday’s budget do “whatever it takes” to support households and businesses through the worst of the coronavirus outbreak as the global health emergency threatens to plunge Britain into a recession and unleash widespread social and economic disruption. |
| But he also signalled that he would willing to borrow for day-to-day spending to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the short term. | But he also signalled that he would willing to borrow for day-to-day spending to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the short term. |
| “We will this year do everything it takes to deal with the immediate challenge, that’s absolutely the right thing to do, that’s the right economic response,” the chancellor told Sky News. | “We will this year do everything it takes to deal with the immediate challenge, that’s absolutely the right thing to do, that’s the right economic response,” the chancellor told Sky News. |
| In a far-reaching budget statement placing the government response to the pandemic at its core, Sunak said he was making £12bn of emergency spending available as part of a three-point plan to keep public services running as smoothly as possible as the virus spreads. | In a far-reaching budget statement placing the government response to the pandemic at its core, Sunak said he was making £12bn of emergency spending available as part of a three-point plan to keep public services running as smoothly as possible as the virus spreads. |
| Asked about the impact the US flight ban would have on the 26 EU countries it affected, Sunak told BBC Radio 4: “You are right, as I talked about yesterday, there will be an impact on the demand side of our economy as people are unable to spend in the way that they normally do and travel but it also affects supply chains for business and that impacts the supply side of our economy if those supply chains are disrupted.” | Asked about the impact the US flight ban would have on the 26 EU countries it affected, Sunak told BBC Radio 4: “You are right, as I talked about yesterday, there will be an impact on the demand side of our economy as people are unable to spend in the way that they normally do and travel but it also affects supply chains for business and that impacts the supply side of our economy if those supply chains are disrupted.” |