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The world’s first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft has taken to the skies above Bedfordshire.
The only thing that the six-seater Piper M-class plane emits is water vapour – and ZeroAvia, the company behind the technology, says its aim is to make hydrogen planes available commercially in three years.

“What we’re doing is replacing fossil fuel engines with what’s called hydrogen electric engines,” ZeroAvia founder and chief executive Val Miftakhov told Sky News.

Image: The only thing that the six-seater Piper M-class plane emits is water vapour
“We also have a fuelling infrastructure set up that ensures zero emission production of hydrogen itself.”
A prototype plane with this type of engine has flown before, but the company says this is the first time that a commercially available aircraft has taken to the skies using hydrogen power.

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ZeroAvia says the science is already there for a long, zero-emissions flight by the end of this decade.

But existing airport infrastructure is designed to accommodate gas-guzzling jets, and introducing hydrogen aircraft more widely would mean ground operations would have to be overhauled too.

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“It’s not just a question of putting hydrogen-based aeroplanes and getting them to work, we need the infrastructure on the ground to support everything,” said David Gleave, aviation safety investigator and researcher at Loughborough University.
“We have to work out how to refuel these aeroplanes because existing infrastructure won’t work and we have to work out other things such as the fire and rescue requirements for the aeroplane, so there’s quite a lot of work to do but certainly it’s very exciting going forward.”

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The UK government is supporting the project as part of its Jet Zero Council initiative, which is aimed at making net-zero emissions flights possible in the future.
Ministers hope it will bring economic benefit to Britain, even as the world faces a pandemic which has crushed the airline industry.
“There’s also an opportunity, as we build back, to make sure that we’ve got environmental credentials at the heart of this. This is world-beating technology which has an economic opportunity for Britain as well as answering the global climate change challenge,” aviation minister Robert Courts told Sky News.
After Thursday’s 20-minute flight, ZeroAvia is working towards a 250-mile flight out of an airfield in Orkney.
Mr Miftakhov says the technology is safe, and people will be able to fly without feeling guilty about damaging the environment.
He hopes it won’t be too long until there are paying passengers on board.

Novavax is ready to start its Phase 3 trial of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the UK.
The US biotechnology firm plans to enrol up to 10,000 volunteers aged between 18 and 84 over the next four to six weeks.

The company joins AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna as its vaccine candidate enters the final step of the regulatory approvals process.
Live updates on coronavirus from UK and around world

Meet the COVID sniffer dogs

There are almost 40 potential vaccines being tested globally and more than 140 others in the early stages of testing, according to the World Health Organisation.

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Half of the volunteers in the Novavax trial will have two shots of NVX-CoV2373 with Matrix-M, the company’s adjuvant which is intended to strengthen the vaccine. Half will be given a placebo.

Up to 400 volunteers will get a seasonal flu vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine to see the effectiveness of combining the two.

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At least 25% of participants will be aged over 65 and the trial will prioritise groups most affected by COVID-19, including those from ethnic minorities, the company said.
In August, the UK government announced that support and infrastructure would be given to Novavax during its Phase 3 clinical trial in the UK.

How close are we to a COVID vaccine? Tracking the global efforts

This includes plans to manufacture the vaccine in the UK and the promise of 60 million doses for the UK if the vaccine turns out to be safe and effective.
The Novavax candidate is the second vaccine to enter Phase 3 clinical trials in the UK – the first was the potential vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
Gregory M Glenn, president of research and development at Novavax, said the team was “optimistic” that the trial would “provide a near-term view” of the vaccine’s efficacy.
He added: “The data from this trial is expected to support regulatory submissions for licensure in the UK, EU and other countries.
“We are grateful for the support of the UK government, including from its Department of Health and Social Care and National Institute for Health Research, to advance this important research.”

Why do some people refuse vaccinations?

Novavax said that pre-clinical trials showed the potential vaccine was “generally well-tolerated” and produced “robust antibody responses” greater than those seen in recovering patients.
Thomas Moore, Sky’s science correspondent, said the Novavax trial could start as soon as Friday and that the vaccine candidate shows “huge promise”.
Novavax shares were up more than 6% in after-hours trading in the US.

There’s a colour and a life to Mercato Metropolitano.
The smell is simply delicious.

But too many of the benches are empty.
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Jobs scheme quite small compared to other COVID-19 measures

On a usual Thursday lunch time this food market and community hub might expect to see just shy of 3,000 customers popping in for a bite and a drink.

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Looking around today I’d estimate there’s been more like 300.

That’s bad news not just for the business that runs this premise and its 1,600 employees but also for the tens of small independent caterers, chefs, arts groups and vendors that lease space here.

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In many ways the chancellor’s measures today were aimed at businesses just like these.
The sector specific extension in VAT cuts for hospitality and leisure industries certainly went down well, and those businesses that have taken COVID specific loans were pleased to hear the pay back periods are being extended from six to ten years.
But the chancellor’s key focus today was on retaining jobs that are viable.

Where jobs have been lost around the UK
Retail and aviation are the worst hit sectors

The Treasury no longer wants to be propping up posts that sadly won’t be able to sustain themselves unaided, but it doesn’t want the hardest hit industries to be decimated beyond recovery once this crisis is over.
That fear has certainly been felt here.
“As an industry we’ve been through so much already,” explains Carrie Bowers, head of people at Mercato Metropolitano in south east London.
She and her team express relief at the announcement of the Jobs Support Scheme, which will see the government topping up the wages of staff kept on on a part time basis.
It’s certainly something of a safety bracket for the winter but it doesn’t mean they’ll rest easy
“As long as things continue as they are we would be OK.
“If there are further lock down measures imposed, even if they are only short term, that could have a very catastrophic impact.”
This venue crosses the hospitality, events and night time economy sectors.

Image: ‘I’m very worried’ says Emma Freira
They are all sectors that have been crippled, all sectors that the chancellor wants to survive the pandemic.
At full capacity this market can hold 35,000 people – crammed onto benches, leaning on bars, standing up with their pizzas and beers.
With social distancing and the rule of six it can now only hold 1,000 at any one time.
The 10pm hospitality curfew introduced by the Prime Minster this week was another major blow.
It was mentioned by everyone here without exception.
“It’s terrible but we’re going to do it” says Andrea Rasca, the market’s founder
“They are punishing hospitality and we don’t understand why.”
The smaller vendors tended to use less direct language but the sentiment was there – while none would reject help, few thought it would be enough to counter the drop in footfall and tightened restrictions.

Image: Sieng Vantran thinks there should be specific measures for different industries
“I’m very worried” says Emma Freira , one of the small vendors working for organic supplier That’s Food.
She says while the measures may be helpful they don’t fix the deeper challenges they face.
“We’ve been worried since the beginning of the COVID situation,” she says.
“I don’t think it changes anything for us.
“It’s the same state we have been in since the beginning.”.
It’s tough and uncertain for people working at the market.
One barman says that although the Jobs Support Scheme might save his role, “I don’t want to work part time, I want to work all the hours I should be”.
There are arts groups here too – another industry another struggling to hold on.
Sieng Vantran is the founder of Theartry, a live performance and social purpose group based out of this market.
He’s had to recreate the space to accommodate an audience of just 88 down from 200 and the 10pm curfew is particularly tough.
“The band would normally just be getting going.”

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He admits he’s “massively” worried.
“I don’t think [the measures] help new businesses, as much as existing businesses and we’re quite a new business.
“I think it’s a one size catch-all type thing I think that there should be specific measures for different industries.”
Everyone here says it’s going to be a tough winter ahead.
A handful of vendors have already had to close – even when Mercato Metropolitano dropped all rent charges for a period.
The resilience of this industry will get them so far, and more government support will help – but survival is, for many, by no means certain.

Morrisons has become the first supermarket chain to reinstate rationing on essential goods after evidence that some customers were stockpiling.
Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer said it was limiting consumers buying products such as toilet roll, disinfectants and bleach to a maximum of three items.

Live updates on coronavirus from UK and around the world

Image: Shelves were stripped bare amid panic-buying in March
It comes as the government introduces new measures in an effort to hold back the rising number of coronavirus cases.
Earlier this week, the chief executive of Tesco urged consumers to avoid a “return to unnecessary panic buying”, in an interview with Sky News.

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All the major supermarkets had introduced temporary restrictions in March after shelves were stripped bare of essentials such as toilet rolls in the weeks leading up to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The restrictions were slowly lifted as stocks recovered.

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But Morrisons revealed on Thursday that it was reintroducing limits after customers began stockpiling soup, pasta and cleaning products.
It revealed the move in response to a Twitter post from a member of the public urging supermarkets to “start putting a stop to bulk buying items”.

Hi Martin. We have seen stocking up on certain products like soup, pasta, cleaning items, etc. Due to this we’re now introducing some max caps into store so we can ensure good availability for all our customers. We’ve already applied some to online orders also 🙂 – Rochelle
— Morrisons (@Morrisons) September 24, 2020

The supermarket said in a tweet that it would introduce caps on in-store purchases to ensure “good availability for all our customers” – and that some caps had already been applied to online orders.
A Morrisons spokesman later told Reuters: “We’ve got decent stock levels but we want to be sure that they are available for everyone.”
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda have not imposed any new restrictions.

Tesco: COVID panic buying ‘unnecessary’

Dave Lewis, the chief executive of Tesco, sought to reassure customers on Wednesday after the prime minister told people to work from home where possible and ordered restaurants and bars to close early to tackle a spike in the pandemic.
Mr Lewis told Sky News: “I think the UK saw how well the food industry managed last time, so there’s very good supplies of food.
“We just don’t want to see a return to unnecessary panic buying because that creates a tension in the supply chain that’s not necessary.

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“And therefore we would just encourage customers to continue to buy as normal.”
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK, said in an email to customers this week: “Our stores remain fully stocked and ask that you continue to shop considerately.
“There is no need to buy more than you usually would.”
Meanwhile, Asda said on Wednesday that it was introducing 1,000 safety marshals at its stores to reinforce guidance on wearing face masks and social distancing for shoppers.

A Hong Kong-based private equity firm has stepped into the refinancing of Clarks, the shoe retailer, as part of talks that could lead to the chain ending two centuries of majority family ownership.
Sky News has learnt that LionRock Capital, which has backed companies such as Internazionale, the Serie A football club, and the ride-hailing app Hailo, is one of two remaining bidders for a stake in Clarks.

Discussions about a deal are expected to conclude in the next month, and are said to include a rival bid from Alteri Investors, a firm which specialises in providing capital to troubled retailers.

Where jobs have been lost around the UK
Retail and aviation are the worst hit sectors

Sources said that any transaction was likely to involve the Clark family retaining an equity stake in the business, although it could be reduced to below 50%, depending on the progress of the talks.
Sky News revealed in May that the footwear chain was in discussions about a share sale, with between £100m and £150m likely to be injected into the business as part of any deal.

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In May, Clarks’ new chief executive, Giorgio Presca, unveiled a strategy – dubbed ‘Made to Last’ – that will aim to steer it into its third century of operation.

His plans involve 900 job losses, with 200 new roles being created.

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Clarks said in a statement that as part of the new strategy it was “currently reviewing options to best position our business, our people and the Clarks brand for future long-term growth”.
A triumvirate of accountancy firms are working on a restructuring of Clarks as it tries to weather the coronavirus outbreak’s impact on the high street.

Changing face of retail under coronavirus

The chain’s family shareholders have drafted in KPMG to advise them, while Deloitte has been hired by the company’s management team.
PricewaterhouseCoopers had been engaged by a syndicate of the footwear chain’s lenders as they assess the COVID-19 crisis’s impact on its prospects.
Rothschild, the investment bank, is also advising the company.
The string of appointments come after a difficult period for Clarks, which was founded in 1825 and has become synonymous with generations of parents buying their children’s first pair of shoes.

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It remains largely owned by descendants of Cyrus and James Clark, who founded the business in Somerset nearly 200 years ago.
Clarks trades from about 345 stores in the UK, employing thousands of people, but has denied that it will be exploring a Company Voluntary Arrangement – a widely used insolvency mechanism that would – if approved by creditors – pave the way for a radical restructuring.
The company has furloughed thousands of its store staff under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
In the last year for which figures are available, Clarks reported a post-tax loss of more than £80m.

Battered by coronavirus, bemused by a summer of mixed messages and befuddled by the latest Brexit contortions, business was looking to the Chancellor for an effective, equitable and practical package of support.
What they got was a clear message: for many, the hard times start now.

Live updates on coronavirus from UK and around world

Sunak announces ‘job support scheme’

If the furlough scheme was conceived as a bridge to carry the economy to the other side of the pandemic, Rishi Sunak today launched the lifeboats.
And it was clear from the Chancellor’s statement that there will not be room for everyone and not every job will survive the crossing.

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With no end to the outbreak in sight and restrictions to economic and social life set to continue for at least six months, his Jobs Support Scheme is a recognition that some businesses and jobs are no longer viable.

From November, when the transition from furlough to the new Job Support Scheme begins, many more businesses will face closure, and hundreds of thousands of people will face redundancy.

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Mr Sunak’s argument is that without the new scheme it would be much, much worse.
In place of furlough, which paid 80% of employees’ wages to stay at home while the economy was locked down, Mr Sunak announced a wage subsidy scheme to support employees working just 33% of their normal hours.

Image: Rishi Sunak flanked by the TUC’s Frances O’Grady (l) and CBI boss Carolyn Fairbairn (r)
The theory is that employers will be persuaded to retain some staff part-time, with the government sharing the cost of making up their normal wages, until demand returns or restrictions lift.
One major player in the aviation industry has told Sky News that such a scheme, long used in Germany and France, could help reduce planned redundancies by up to a third.
For industries that can see a long-term path to recovery the scheme has merit, and it has the endorsement of both bosses and unions.

This is a v big change from furlough. Less generous. Only open to those who are working a third of normal hours. Understandable given need to adapt as economy changes. Can’t pay all wages forever. But a lot on furlough now likely to lose their job. https://t.co/lFBEgKtlnP
— Paul Johnson (@PJTheEconomist) September 24, 2020

The sight of the leaders of both the CBI and the TUC at Mr Sunak’s shoulder before his statement was a powerful endorsement, and further evidence of this Chancellor’s penchant for presentation.
The substance of his announcement will not please everyone, however, and there will be anger in some sectors left behind.
Aviation is already planning for a four-year recovery, but the hospitality, events, sport and leisure sectors – all heavily reliant on part-time workers – cannot afford to look that far ahead and may conclude the Chancellor’s raft does not have room for them.

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Many of them also contest the scientific argument for the restrictions they face, particularly the logic of the 10pm closing time for pubs and clubs.
For many, last orders may not be far away.

The chancellor has unveiled his “Winter Economy Plan” to protect jobs as the UK continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
With Britons warned the latest COVID-19 restrictions could last as long as six months – and the looming end of the furlough scheme – Rishi Sunak has set out a raft of new measures.

These are the key coronavirus announcements from his Commons address:
A new jobs support scheme – which will replace furlough – will see the government “directly support” the wages of people in “viable” jobs working at least a third of their normal hours
The government will top up a third of the worker’s salary that would have otherwise been lost as a result of working reduced hours – capped at £697.92 a month – which means a third will go unpaid
It will start in November and run for six months – with all small and medium-sized businesses eligible for the scheme
Larger firms will have to prove their profits have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in order to utilise it
Businesses will not be able to issue redundancy notices to employees while taking part in this scheme
The self-employed grant will be extended on similar terms as this new support scheme
A “pay as you grow” scheme to allow companies more time to repay bounce back loans over a period of up to 10 years rather than six
Those struggling to pay them back will now be able to choose to make interest-only repayments and “anyone in real trouble” can suspend repayments altogether for up to six months
VAT will remain at 5% for hospitality and tourism until 31 March 2021 – rather than reverting back to 20% in January
The deadline for taking out a coronavirus business interruption loan will be extended until 30 November, with the government guarantee on them extended for up to 10 years
The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank has said the new Job Support Scheme is “significantly less generous” than the preceding furlough system.
Paul Johnson, the director of the IFS, said: “The new job support scheme represents a significant new intervention from government to support jobs through the crisis.

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“But it is significantly less generous than the furlough scheme it replaces, though remarkably the chancellor provided no indication of the likely cost of the scheme.”

He added: “With employers now having to pay at least 55% of the normal wages of their employees it is clear that many jobs will be lost over the coming months.”

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The hospitality and entertainment sectors have raised concerns about the new measures, due to the inability of venues like nightclubs and theatres to open.

Paul Kelso: Not every job will survive
For many, especially in the hospitality sector, the outlook remains bleak – and last orders will not be far away.

A statement from the Music Venue Trust said: “The measures announced today do not address the need for the UK government to support different sectors of our society which are subject to different restrictions because of its own actions to control the virus.
“This is a very specific challenge to the live music industry, which is not permitted to trade by government restrictions but has not seen any sector support directly offered in this financial intervention.”

The former chief executive of Cambridge Analytica, the political consultancy which collapsed amid a scandal over its harvesting of personal data during election campaigns, is facing a seven-year ban on holding company directorships.
Sky News can reveal that Alexander Nix, who ran Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, SCL Election, has agreed to undertakings that will prevent him from running, or serving as a director of, a limited company in Britain until 2027.

Sources said the ban would be announced by the Insolvency Service, which is part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, later on Thursday.

Image: Alexander Nix
It is due to come into force early next month, they added.
The sanction will be the latest in a string of fines and bans imposed on those involved in Cambridge Analytica’s brief but controversial existence, which became a focal point for debate about the extent to which the use of sophisticated data-mining tools can undermine democratic processes.

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An insider said the directorship disqualification against Mr Nix would accuse him of allowing the consultancy to market itself as offering potentially unethical services to potential clients.

These included “bribery stings and honey-trap stings aimed at uncovering corruption”, “voter disengagement campaigns” and “the obtaining of information to discredit political opponents”, according to a source familiar with the proposed statement.

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The disqualification of Mr Nix would be based on an assertion that he had acted with “a lack of commercial probity”, they said.
It was unclear on Thursday whether any other individuals involved in the Cambridge Analytica scandal continued to face disqualification proceedings.
Mr Nix, who sought to deny that Cambridge Analytica had played any role in trying to shape voters’ intentions ahead of the 2016 Brexit referendum, was accused by MPs of “deliberately misleading” a select committee over its alleged use of Facebook data.
SCL Elections and its affiliated companies ceased trading in 2018 following a storm of adverse publicity over its techniques and an undercover video recording which showed Mr Nix appearing to encourage a sting operation involving bribes and paid-for sex during a political campaign in Sri Lanka.

Image: Facebook’s role in the data scandal resulted in a multi-billion dollar settlement with US regulators
Last year, Facebook agreed to pay $5bn to regulators in the US over vast quantities of user data which had been deployed by Cambridge Analytica during campaigns including President Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory.
The social network also paid a far smaller sum – £500,000 – to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office for “serious breaches of data protection law”.
The US Federal Trade Commission said it had reached settlements with Mr Nix and another former Cambridge Analytica employee, Aleksandr Kogan, an app developer and academic.
In the settlement announcement, the FTC accused Cambridge Analytica of employing “deceptive tactics to harvest personal information from tens of millions of Facebook users for voter profiling and targeting.”
The leak of huge quantities of Facebook user data thrust the company headed by Mark Zuckerberg into a spotlight about the quality of its compliance operations from which it has yet to emerge.
Reports said on Thursday that Facebook would launch a new oversight body ahead of this year’s US presidential election to determine the legitimacy of content published on its platform.
The Insolvency Service’s disqualification of Mr Nix is expected to refer to Cambridge Analytica’s provision of “shady political services”, according to an insider.
Under the powers contained in the Company Director Disqualification Act, the Insolvency Service can seek to ban individuals for up to 15 years.
Other prominent targets of directorship bans handed down in recent years include Dominic Chappell, who bought the department store chain BHS for £1 from Sir Philip Green, then presided over its collapse.
Mr Chappell was banned for ten years.
Alan Yentob, the former BBC creative director, is contesting a proposed ban arising from his stewardship of the failed charity Kids’ Company in a court case that is scheduled to begin next month.
Three former partners of the collapsed public relations firm Bell Pottinger – James Henderson, Victoria Geoghegan and Nick Lambert – have also been handed notices of the Insolvency Service’s intention to disqualify them.
All three former Bell Pottinger executives are understood to be contesting it.
A spokesman for the Insolvency Service declined to comment ahead of an official announcement about Mr Nix.

Rishi Sunak has unveiled a new scheme to support wages during the pandemic but admitted that it will leave many facing an uncertain future.
The chancellor announced the new measures in a bid to avert a winter jobs crisis as the current furlough scheme comes to an end and tougher restrictions are introduced to combat coronavirus.

Mr Sunak’s plan will see the government, together with employers, top up wages for staff working as little as a third of their normal hours, for six months starting from November – so that they can keep their jobs.
Live updates on coronavirus from UK and around the world

Where jobs have been lost in the UK economy

It is designed to help those whose roles will be “viable” in the long term but experts immediately warned that it would not be enough to avert large scale unemployment in the worst-hit sectors.

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The chancellor stressed that it was his priority to save jobs but admitted: “I can’t promise that everyone can go back to the job that they used to have.”

Rishi Sunak’s key announcements:

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The Job Support Scheme will begin in November and run for six months
Self-employment income support scheme extended
A “pay as you grow” extension to the Bounce Back Loan scheme will give businesses 10 years to repay them
VAT cut to 5% for hospitality and tourism extended until the end of March.
Mr Sunak was forced to act amid widespread warnings that fresh curbs on business activity this week to combat the disease, expected to last for six months, would spark waves of redundancies as the current Job Retention Scheme is wound down.
The furlough scheme, which is closed at the end of next month, has already cost the taxpayer almost £40bn to date while Treasury-backed business loans of £57bn have been handed out.

Image: The scheme will top up pay for people in a ‘viable’ job
The Treasury has not disclosed the expected cost of the new initiative, though the chancellor said it could cost roughly £300m per million people benefiting from it per month.
Experts at Capital Economics estimated that overall the measures could cost £5bn.
Mr Sunak said: “The government will directly support the wages of people in work, giving businesses who face depressed demand the option of keeping employees in a job on shorter hours rather than making them redundant.”
Crucially, he added that Jobs Support Scheme claimants would not be allowed to issue redundancy notices and there would be curbs governing rewards for shareholders.
He explained that the scheme was open to any business though larger firms would only be able to access it if they could demonstrate a slump in turnover.
The scheme will see employees who are working a third of their hours have two-thirds of the pay they might otherwise have lost topped up – half of it by the government and half of it by their employer.
He also confirmed that firms retaining furloughed staff on shorter hours could claim both the Jobs Support Scheme and the previously announced jobs retention bonus – a reward of £1,000 paid to companies for every furloughed employee who returns to work.
The chancellor said his plans would ensure support was in place during the “more permanent adjustment” to the economy caused by the crisis.
He also indicated that the government was “ready to do more” if tougher restrictions were brought in to try to combat a resurgence in the spread of the virus.

From 1 November, for the next six months, the Job Support Scheme will protect viable jobs in businesses who are facing lower demand over the winter months due to Covid-19. pic.twitter.com/8NpIKpQV8y
— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) September 24, 2020

Pressed on whether unemployment – currently at 1.4 million according to latest official figures – could rise to more than four million, Mr Sunak declined to give “precise numbers” but admitted there were “difficult times to come”.
Announcing the measures in the Commons, the chancellor said: “I cannot save every business. I cannot save every job. No chancellor could.
“But what we can do is deal with the real problems businesses and employees are facing now.”
But Labour and unions accused him of delaying, arguing the measures should have gone further while the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson, said: “It is clear that many jobs will be lost over the coming months.”
The IFS said that some jobs that may be viable in the long-term might not be able to be saved in the short-term even at reduced hours – for example at night clubs or businesses that rely on city centre office workers for their sales.

Jobs scheme quite small compared to other COVID-19 measures

Business groups largely welcomed the statement.
The CBI hailed what it called “bold steps to save hundreds of thousands of viable jobs this winter”.
Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The measures announced by the chancellor will give business and the economy an important shot in the arm.
“Chambers of Commerce have consistently called for a new generation of support to help protect livelihoods and ease the cash pressures faced by firms as they head into a challenging and uncertain winter.
“The chancellor has responded to our concerns with substantial steps that will help companies preserve jobs and navigate through the coming months.”
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, wanted a full extension of the original furlough scheme.
“The chancellor’s measures are akin to using a plaster to cover a gaping wound”, he said.

Cineworld has revealed the coronavirus crisis could still pose a risk to its very future.
The cinema chain, which has almost 780 sites in 10 countries, said it would be “likely” forced to bolster its balance sheet further in the event new rules force it to bring the curtain down on its global reopening or delay new releases,

The company said it was facing down several deadlines covering agreements with its banks – the first of which expires in December.

Image: Cineworld says six of its UK cinemas remain closed
Cineworld said it was continuing to negotiate waivers on the so-called covenants as it revealed a £1.3bn pre-tax loss for the six months to 30 June.
It was forced to close its entire estate from March as COVID-19 lockdowns began in its operating markets.

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The company said that 561 out of its 778 cinemas had since re-opened, with only six remaining shuttered in the UK.

It pointed to particular damage in the US, including the key markets of California and New York, as 200 sites are still closed.

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But it said current trading had been “encouraging considering the circumstances”, with solid demand for action-thriller and spy-fi film Tenet released earlier this month.

Image: Tom Cruise welcomes film fans back to the movies. Pic: Instagram/@TomCruise
It warned: “There can be no certainty as to the future impact of COVID-19 on the group.
“If governments were to strengthen restrictions on social gathering, which may therefore oblige us to close our estate again or further push back movie releases, it would have a negative impact on our financial performance andlikely require the need to raise additional liquidity.”
Shares fell 14% at the open.
The firm said it had tapped government support schemes, where available, across its markets to support the wages of its 37,000 staff during the enforced screen closures.
Cineworld had faced an angry backlash at the start of the crisis when it was accused of rushing to fire workers as it shut cinemas down, only to backtrack as the Job Retention Scheme got into gear.
Chief executive Mooky Greidinger told investors on Thursday: “The impact of COVID-19 on our business and the wider leisure industry has been substantial, with the closures of all of our cinemas worldwide for an extended period.
“During this unprecedented time, our priority has been the safety and health of our customers and employees, while at the same time preserving cash and protecting our balance sheet.
“Our mitigating actions included reducing and deferring costs where possible; making use of government support schemes for our employees; partially delaying capital investments; and suspending our dividend.
“We have also raised an additional $360.8m of liquidity to support our business.”
The company was threatened with legal action in May when it pulled out of a £1.6bn deal to buy Canada’s biggest chain, Cineplex.