UK economy suffers biggest fall in GDP on record

It comes after data yesterday showed a quarter of Scots had been furloughed from their jobs, and 70% of self-employed people had appealed for government support during the pandemic.

The UK Government are now said to be reconsidering the enforcement of stringent checks on goods coming to the UK from Europe when the Brexit transition period ends, in an attempt to help the economy recover.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said the move was not a "u-turn" and still under consideration, but added: "Yes we will have to have some light-touch border controls but that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone."

Mr Jack said Nicola Sturgeon should speed up the reopening of other elements of the economy, and expressed his concern about the tourism sector.

He said: "We knew the [GDP] numbers were going to be bad, and I suspect they'll be no better in May.

"That just points to one thing and that as soon as it's able to do so. We've got to move as quickly as we can to open up the economy again."

He also said the Scottish Government should be seriously considering moving from a two metre social distancing rule to one metre, as "soon as possible".

He explained: "We’re seeing an R number below one. We’ve got to move as quickly as we can to open up the economy again and I would say to Nicola Sturgeon she must have an open mind on that.

“We’ve got non-essential retail reopening in England next week.

“It’s critical to save people’s livelihoods we start opening up the economy as quickly as possible.”

The UK Government minister said more tourism businesses would remain viable if the two-metre social distancing rule was reduced.

He said: “As soon as it is possible to do so with the R number suppressed, I would like to see it move to one metre.

“I think, to get back to something to near normal in the way that we conduct our lives and our businesses, as we see the virus recede, and we’ve seen this happen without any bad consequences in other European countries, we should move to one metre when the time is right.”

Alison Thewliss, SNP shadow Chancellor said the latest GDP figures "must serve as a wake-up call for the UK government to immediately extend and strengthen support schemes, not wind them down."

She added: "Businesses are struggling to survive, thousands of jobs are on the line, and households are taking a severe hit as people see a drop in income or job losses through no fault of their own.

"The UK government should be alleviating that financial burden, rather than adding to it at this critical stage."

Anneliese Dodds, Labour's shadow chancellor, said the figures emphasised the need for the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to reconsider providing different levels of support to industries most severely impacted by the pandemic.

She said: "These figures are deeply worrying. They come a day after the OECD suggested that the UK's fall in GDP for this year will be worse than that of every other industrialised country.

"As a constructive opposition, Labour has been pushing the Government to take the action that is needed now to prevent an even deeper recession. That means above all getting a grip on test, track and isolate, so that people can safely return to work and consumers can have confidence in entering businesses. It also means changing its one-size-fits-all approach to support packages, which risk additional waves of unemployment."