CORONAVIRUS: Self-employed offered support worth 80per cent of average monthly profits

The Chancellor said the move - worth up to a maximum of £2,500 a month - would cover 95per cent of self-employed workers.

The package comes after the Government came under sustained pressure as its initial package of financial support only covered employees.

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Mr Sunak said: "To support those who work for themselves, today I am announcing a new self-employed income support scheme.

"The Government will pay self-employed people who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits over the last three years, up to £2,500 a month."

The Chancellor said the scheme will be available "no later" than the beginning of June.

It is open to anyone with trading profits of up to £50,000 and will only be available to those who make the majority of their income from self-employment so only the "genuinely self-employed" benefit.

"And to minimise fraud only those who are already in self-employment who have a tax return for 2019 will be able to apply," he said.

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"95per cent of people who are majority self-employed will benefit from this scheme."

The Chancellor said "it provides an unprecedented level of support for self-employed people".

Boris Johnson has previously warned that the self-employed may not be able to get through the coronavirus crisis "without any kind of hardship at all".

But the Prime Minister said he wanted to get "parity of support" so the self-employed could have similar levels of protection to waged workers.

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Mr Sunak set out plans for 80per cent wage subsidies for PAYE employees last week.