WATCH: UK needs “quite dramatic measures” for coronavirus crisis, says Hilary Benn

Labour MP Hilary Benn has today said that the UK will need to “quickly” implement “quite dramatic measures” to address the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

The MP for Leeds Central asserted that telling sacked workers to claim Universal Credit that can currently incur a five-week wait is “not up to the task”.

Benn also said he did not “buy the argument” being put forward by the government about social distancing, which they say could be dropped too early by people who become ‘fatigued’.

Labour peer Joan Bakewell told the BBC that older people were already undertaking social distancing. She called for increased testing so that those who have become immune can be identified.

Labour MP Hilary Benn said telling laid-off workers to claim universal credit with a five-week wait through coronavirus crisis “is not up to the task”

“We are going to need to get quite dramatic measures, very, very quickly”#COVID_19uk #PoliticsLive https://t.co/iXq8wnrEaU pic.twitter.com/ye0Xnwg02S

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 16, 2020