Coronavirus: Are firms gaming the government’s furlough scheme?

Analysis: The job subsidy is certainly not perfect but we must remember that ministers had no choice but to act fast, says Ben Chu

Are wealthy football clubs the kind of private sector firms that the government should be subsidising at this time? (Getty)

The initial criticism of the government’s plan to support companies and jobs in the face of the economic hurricane created by the lockdowns to deal with Covid-19 was that it didn’t go far enough.

Now we are hearing what sounds like the opposite complaint – that it goes too far.

Julian Knight, the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, has criticised some Premier League clubs for accessing the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to furlough some of their non-playing staff.