Calling for further measures from the UK government to help the self-employed, BCC Director General Dr Adam Marshall said:

“The government has taken massive steps to help so many businesses in recent days.

“Ministers must now also ramp up support for the self-employed, many of whom have seen their livelihoods vanish in the blink of an eye.

“Chambers across the UK are hearing from thousands of sole traders, for whom last week’s measures offer little reassurance.

“While we understand the complexity involved, there are five million self-employed people who need help similar in scale and scope to that put in place for larger firms in recent days. We will work closely with ministers to find a way to deliver support to self-employed people – and to ensure that the measures announced for larger businesses make it through quickly to the front line.”