Budget 2020: Coronavirus battle plan revealed to make UK one of ‘best equipped’ countries to fight off bug

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A CORONAVIRUS battle plan will be laid out in today’s Budget to make sure the country is one of the best to fight off the bug.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said his economic action plan will have help for the public, businesses and frontline workers to try and stop the spread of the deadly disease.

Read the latest Budget updates from our live blog here

Britain’s Chancellor will set out an action plan for coronavirus later today
Rishi Sunak making his final preparations to his first Budget speech

Revealing his plans to Cabinet this morning ahead of the lunchtime statement, he said his first financial statement will make sure everyone gets the support they need.

It will make Britain “one of the best placed economies in the world to manage the potential impact of the virus”, he told the PM and other colleagues this morning.

All the economic tools are at his disposal to use if needed, he said.

It comes this morning after it was revealed that the Bank of England would cut interest rates to give the economy a boost through the crisis.

And GDP growth from last quarter slowed to just 0 per cent too.

Despite coronavirus being the “front and centre in our minds”, the Budget will make sure it delivers on the Tory party manifesto too, the Chancellor said this morning.

Investing in public services and cutting taxes for millions of people will be a huge part of today’s big announcements.

A Downing Street spokesperson said that “the PM said that this Budget starts to tackle head on the challenges facing our economy and country – addressing productivity and regional imbalances – and showing that the government is responding to the public’s desire for change”.

Further action on levelling up the country is expected throughout the day, he added.