Watch live: Boris Johnson gives press conference as second lockdown starts

5 November 2020, 16:20 | Updated: 8 November 2020, 11:14

WATCH LIVE: Coronavirus press conference (5 November 2020)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to give a press conference on the first day of England's second national lockdown.

Earlier, it was announced the Government's coronavirus furlough scheme will be extended until the end of March.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed payments will remain at 80 per cent of people's wages "to protect jobs and livelihoods".

In a major U-turn by the Government, the Chancellor said the move is needed because of the economic situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Elsewhere, the Bank of England has pumped another £150 billion into the economy as England enters its second lockdown.

Members of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to expand its quantitative easing (QE) programme to a mammoth £895 billion, but held rates at the historic low of 0.1%.

It said gross domestic product (GDP) will pick up in the first quarter of 2021, but warned that activity will still remain "materially lower" than before the coronavirus crisis.