Boris Johnson news – live: Government 'far too slow' to roll out economic recovery plan, says Sadiq Khan, as Rishi Sunak unveils mini-budget

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is now laying out his emergency "mini-budget" in the Commons.

"People are anxious about losing their job, about unemployment rising. We're not just going to accept this," he says. "People need to know that we will do all we can to give everyone the opportunity of good and secure work.

"People need to know that although hardship lies ahead, no one will be left without hope. So today we act with a plan for jobs."

He adds that this plan will "protect, support and create jobs", giving businesses the confidence to retain and hire, and give young people a better start.

Rishi Sunak introduces £1,000 bonus per furloughed employee kept on

Businesses will be paid a £1,000 bonus for every furloughed employ they bring back to work, the chancellor has announced.

Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons said the bonus would apply to employees paid enough to reach the lower earnings limit for paying national insurance, our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports.

"If you're an employer and you bring back someone who was furloughed - and continuously employ them through to January - we'll pay you a £1,000 bonus per employee," he said.

"Its vital people aren't just returning for the sake of it - they need to be doing decent work. So for businesses to get the bonus, the employee must be paid at least £520 on average, in each month from November to the end of January - the equivalent of the lower earnings limit in national insurance."

Mr Sunak said the policy would cost £9 billion if all employers took full advantage of the scheme, adding: "Our message to business is clear: if you stand by your workers, we will stand by you."

Furlough scheme to wind down by October 'flexibly and gradually'

"Furlough has been a lifeline for millions, supporting people and businesses to protect jobs," the Chancellor says. "But it cannot and should not go on forever."

Rishi Sunak says the scheme will wind down "flexibly and gradually", supporting people and businesses through to October.

"I know that when furlough ends it will be a difficult moment. I'm also sure that if I say the scheme must end in October, critics will say it should end in November. If I say it should end in November, critics will just say December," he adds.

"But the truth is, calling for endless extensions to the furlough is just as irresponsible as it would have been back in June to end the scheme overnight. We have to be honest.

"Leaving the furlough scheme open forever gives people false hope that it will always be possible to return to the jobs they had before, and the longer people are on furlough, the more likely it is their skills could fade and they will find it harder to get new opportunities."

He says it is "in no-one's long-term interests for the scheme to continue forever, least of all those trapped in a job that can only exist because of a government subsidy."

Stamp Duty scrapped on all homes under £500,000 with immediate effect

Rishi Sunak said the move would benefit nine in ten homebuyers – saving £4,500 on the average purchase, our deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports.

The move was announced as part of the chancellor’s emergency mini-budget to head off a feared explosion in unemployment as the coronavirus pandemic bites harder.

Mr Sunak said proper transactions had fallen by 50 per cent in May – with the first fall in house prices for 8 years. The solution, he announced was a “temporary cut until 31 March” raising the threshold for paying stamp duty from £125,000 to £500,000, to kick in immediately.

Every diner to get £10 restaurant discount and VAT slashed for hospitality sector

Diners are to be given a £10-a-meal government discount for restaurant meals this August, while VAT on the hospitality sector will be slashed from 20 per cent to 5 per cent until next January, chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced.

The dramatic moves, designed to protect millions of jobs in restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels as the UK emerges from the coronavirus crisis, was announced as part of the chancellor's emergency mini-budget, our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports.

'Labour acknowledges government has had to make big decisions'

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said Labour acknowledges the government has had to make big decisions.

Responding to Rishi Sunak's statement, she said: "Our country has been through a great deal over these past few months. Hundreds of thousands have wrestled with this terrible disease. For many months people have had to go without being able to embrace their loved ones even to say goodbye.

"Tens of thousands have died. Our NHS, social care and other workers have made extraordinary sacrifices, we owe them so much.

"The government has had to take big decisions too, we acknowledge that, but today should have been the day when our government chose to build a bridge between what has been done so far and what needs to be done to get out economy moving again.

British people should have got 'back to work budget'

Ms Dodds said the chancellor should have introduced a "back to work budget" and not a statement.

She said: "It should have been the day when the millions of British people worried about their jobs and future prospects had a load taken off of their shoulders.

"It should have been the day when we got the UK economy firing again.

"Today, Britain should have had a back to work budget, but instead we got this summer statement with many of the big decisions put off until later as the benches opposite know full well."

Chancellor's emergency mini budget at a glance

Rishi Sunak has unveiled a package of measures to alleviate the pressures on the economy ahead of a looming recession and anticipated rising levels of unemployment in the UK as the coronavirus lockdown is eased.

Outlining the scale of the challenge ahead, the chancellor told MPs the UK economy had contracted by 25 per cent in two months – the “same amount it grew in the previous 18 years”.

Political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has taken a look at the headline policies announced by Mr Sunak in this piece below:

'Fear is hurting our economy'

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said "fear is hurting our economy" and urged the government to "get this right".

She told MPs: "The government's contracts with outsourcing firms amount to almost £3 billion but we still haven't got test, track and isolate working properly in the UK like it is in many other countries.

"And government still hasn't got a grip on the low-value and limited scope of sick pay, risking people's ability to self-isolate.

"Fear is corrosive, fear is hurting our economy. Government has got to get this right."

'Public health response must ease people's fears'

The shadow chancellor welcomed the government's new economic measures but said the public health response must ease people's fears.

She added: "The best the government can do to boost demand is to give consumers and workers the confidence and psychological security that they can go out to work, to shop, and to socialise in safety.

"So please chancellor work with your colleagues so the public health response catches up with that operating in other countries."

Responding to a remark by the PM, she said: "The prime minister said 'what have I been doing about that?'.

"My party has been repeatedly suggesting solutions to the public health problems facing our country and we need to adopt them in the UK before this crisis becomes even more severe."