Economic Armageddon

Tycoon predicts catastrophic damage to businesses if lockdown lasts through the summer

- John Ferguson Political Editor

Tycoon Lord Willie Haughey fears Covid-19 is on the verge of triggering an “economic Armageddon” that will shatter hundreds of thousands of lives.

Haughey – one of Scotland’s most successful businessmen – predicted a catastrophic destruction of jobs and prosperity if lockdown conditions remain in place through summer.

The former Celtic director said that while saving lives should be the “No1” concern, the country’s leaders must also make sure they do not create a “crisis on top of a crisis”. It is almost certain restrictions will be extended when they are reviewed by the UK Government tomorrow, meaning the country will be ordered to remain indoors for at least another three weeks.

The coronavirus outbreak has brought industry to a halt and the NHS to breaking point.

Lord Haughey said: “During the last financial crisis, Scottish output dropped by about four per cent but it’s projected that coronavirus and the lockdown could lead to a 25 per cent drop.

“Does anyone have any idea what that looks like in human terms? That is Armageddon. “

It is not putting too fine a point on it to say that. You are talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs going, businesses and living standards being destroyed. “The terrible reality is that the medical virus is going to affect thousands, m a y be hundreds of thousands of people – but the economic virus is going to affect everyone.”

The peer, who also offered his workforce to deliver protective equipment to frontline workers, said: “We should not be diverting focus from the horrendous human suffering this virus is causing, that is the No1 priority.

“But we must do everything we can to make sure we are not creating a crisis on top of a crisis.”