Rishi Sunak warns Covid jobs plan will not stem UK's rising unemployment

Chancellor says Britain faces winter of business failures and job losses due to Covid impact

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Rishi Sunak has warned that Britain faces a winter of rising unemployment as he said a new multibillion-pound spending package to boost an economy battered by Covid-19 would not be enough to prevent business failures and job losses over the coming months.

The chancellor said his winter jobs plan - a combination of wage top-ups, cash flow support for companies and an extended VAT cut for the hardest-hit sectors - was needed after tougher curbs to tackle the pandemic were announced earlier this week.

6,634 coronavirus cases were recorded across the UK - the highest single-day figure since the outbreak began.

Thousands of students were forced to self-isolate at 20 universities, while ministers refused to rule out keeping students away from home over Christmas.

The Covid testing crisis grew, forcing thousands of GPs and nurses to stay off work, the Royal College of GPs warned in a letter seen by the Guardian.