Rishi Sunak warns 'hardship lies ahead' and apologises to those left out of his mini-budget

Chancellor risks controversy claiming it would hurt workers to leave them 'just sitting there on furlough'

Rishi Sunak has warned that “hardship lies ahead” for many people, as he faced protests from some groups left out of his £30bn rescue package for the economy.

The chancellor also risked controversy by claiming it would hurt workers to leave them “just sitting there on furlough”, as he defended axing the job retention scheme in the autumn.

“We are not doing those people any favours by not allowing them to get the skills they need to find a new opportunity – just sitting there on furlough forever means their skills fade,” he insisted.

The comment came as the self-employed and freelancers warned of being left without income, while the automotive industry said it was “bitterly disappointed” not to receive extra help.

Speaking after his mini-Budget – which unveiled job-saving wage subsidies, a VAT cut for hospitality and tourism and a stamp duty cut – the chancellor acknowledged not everybody would be rescued.

“Have we been able to help everyone in exactly the way they would have wanted, I’m sure not,” Mr Sunak admitted, on BBC Breakfast “For that I’m sorry.”

And he added: “This has been a period of extreme hardship for many people – and, indeed, hardship lies ahead. This is a difficult time for our economy.”

Mr Sunak also admitted some of the £9.4bn cost of the £1,000-a-head bonus to bring back furloughed workers would be wasted, where those staff would have returned anyway.

“Without question there will be dead weight,” he said, but argued that was the case for all of the emergency help schemes announced.

The package has been hailed by Conservative MPs, after Mr Sunak also offered a £10-a-head ‘eat out to help out’ discount on restaurant meals next month.

But many economic experts and the trades unions argue he has not done enough to head off an unprecedented crisis, with the jobless count set to reach as high as 4.5 million.

Public borrowing will balloon more than £350bn this financial year – reaching 18 per cent of national income – with economic support measures since March now costing £189bn.

The chancellor offered few clues as to how the bills would be paid, when asked about future tax rises, saying: “The cost of not acting in this way would be far greater in the long run.

“We can't sustainably live like this, of course we can't, and over the medium term we can and we will return our public finances to a sustainable position.”

Mr Sunak also declined to place a figure on an “acceptable” number of job losses, saying: “If you're asking me 'can I protect every single job' of course the answer is no.

“Is unemployment going to rise, are people going to lose their jobs? Yes, and the scale of this is significant.

"We are entering one of the most severe recessions this country has ever seen. That is of course going to have a significant impact on unemployment and on job losses.

“What I do know is we are throwing everything we can at trying to minimise the job losses and provide people with new opportunities and hope.”