Boris Johnson begs Brits to get back to the office on Monday or ‘jobs will be lost’

BORIS Johnson last night begged Brits to get back to the office on Monday ­­ — as ministers warned staying at home could cost jobs.

The PM said Britain’s recovery was “unquestionably” linked to a mass “Covid-secure” return because the move would help stimulate the economy.

It came as figures showed Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme was boosting restaurants and the businesses around them.

Mr Johnson’s decision to axe his work from home message emerged as figures showed two-thirds of Brits have yet to do so.

Far more workers have returned on the Continent.

Whitehall civil servants are among those defying edicts, only one in 20 going back in some departments.

Fears of an economic Armageddon are growing - if offices stay stubbornly empty, 135,000 jobs from high-street and city-centre shops could be lost.

Housing Minister Robert Jenrick warned job losses would follow because the wider economy will be hit if millions refuse to budge.

He said: “Those of us who can should be safely going out to shops, using cafés and restaurants and getting back to work.

“If we don’t, I’m afraid we will see further job losses and a loss of some of those fantastic businesses that we see in our cities.”

Mr Johnson added that getting schools open was “very, very important . . . for getting our economy overall moving again”.

Meanwhile, it emerged the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was working. 

It offers half-price meals up to £10 a head on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this month. More than 72,000 restaurants have registered and, say experts, some 35.6million Brits are set to take advantage.

Contactless payments operator SumUp said transactions were up 16.4 per cent in cafes and restaurants on Monday compared to last week. 

Online bookings operator OpenTable said bookings were up ten per cent. Mr Sunak said 1.4million hospitality workers had been furloughed, the highest proportion in any sector, “so it’s important we support them as we reopen the economy safely”.

Retail specialist Springboard said his discount dining deal was helping the high street.

Visits to shops by 3pm on Monday were nearly 30 per cent higher than the Monday before. 

Visits to retail parks and shopping centres were 19 per cent higher. Mr Sunak said: “It’s great.”

More green shoots of hope came as the Bank of England today revised its gloomy outlook for Britain's financial recovery, saying it won't be as dire as initially thought.

But it could take longer to get back on track to pre-Covid strength.

Bank governor Andrew Bailey echoed the PM, saying that the economy is "recovering", but stressed the progress had been "uneven".

The Banks' improved projections for growth in the economy suggest that GDP will shrink by 9.5 per cent this year.

It would still make it the worst outlook in 99 years, but it is less severe than the 14 per cent plummet in the May forecasts - which would have been the worst in more than 300 years.

However, it does not expect the economy to recover to pre-coronavirus levels until the end of 2021, despite previously suggesting that target could be met by the middle of that year.

Despite gloomier predictions from others, the Bank said it expects unemployment to hit 2.5 million — on a par with after the 2008 crash and the highest since 2013, but falling short of the three million in the 1980s.

It has already risen by 649,000 workers since lockdown, with millions more furloughed. Labour last night called for the scheme to be extended beyond the planned October deadline.

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