UK benefits claims pass 1.5 mln since coronavirus crisis escalated

Britain has received more than 1.5 million new claims for welfare payments since mid-March when the government began asking people to avoid unnecessary social contact to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the government said on Tuesday.

The increase from last week's figure of about 1.4 million new claims for Universal Credit benefits represented a slowing from a surge last month but still suggests the country is on course for a jump in unemployment.

Universal Credit benefits are paid to people in work as well as those who have lost their jobs.