Portrait of the week: Sunak’s statement, shop closures and a hoo-ha over Boohoo

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Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced measures intended to stimulate the economy. Under a £111 million scheme, companies in England would be given £1,000 for each new work experience place they offered. Under a £2 billion scheme, householders would be given two-thirds of the cost of energy-saving work such as insulation, up to £5,000. The government made available £1.57 billion in emergency support for the arts and heritage sites; it was to go to institutions, not freelance performers. Among business failures and job losses, sandwich chain Pret A Manger was to close 30 of its 410 shops and lose 1,000 staff. Up to 5,000 jobs were to be cut at the Upper Crust sandwich chain and other cafés owned by the SSP Group. T.M. Lewin the shirtmakers closed its 66 shops, losing 600 jobs. Reach, which owns the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, cut 550 jobs, 12 per cent of its workforce.