Extending UK Furlough Would Trap People in False Hope, Finance Minister Says

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives for a cabinet meeting, the first since mid-March because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at Downing Street in London, Britain, on July 21, 2020. Simon Dawson/Reuters

LONDON—Extending Britain’s furlough scheme would leave some workers trapped in false hope that they could return to their jobs after the coronavirus pandemic, British finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday.

With redundancies mounting, opposition politicians and think tanks have said Sunak should extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme—due to expire at the end of October—until the economy is strong enough to support more at-risk workers.