4 Mar 2021

UK to borrow a record £355bn, Covid variant, Duke 'improves'

From Nine To Noon, 9:45 am on 4 March 2021

UK correspondent Matthew Parris joins Kathryn to look at the Budget outlined overnight by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, which will see the UK borrow a peacetime record £355bn and retain the country's furlough scheme until September. The hunt for the Brazilian Covid variant narrows to 379 households, Scotland's Nicola Sturgeon appears at an inquiry into how the government handled her sexual harassment complaint against her predecessor and the Duke of Edinburgh is "slightly better", according to Camilla.

Pantomime dames in colourful costumes gather in Parliament Square after marching through central London to highlight the plight of the live events industry, on 30 September 2020 in London, England.

Last year pantomime dames gathered in Parliament Square called for an extension to the government's furlough scheme for theatre workers. Today the extension was confirmed by the Chancellor. Photo: WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto/AFP