UK rescue plan under strain as one million surge onto welfare

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson - Filepic

LONDON: Almost one million people have claimed “universal credit” welfare payments in the UK in the past two weeks, exposing the massive economic hit from Boris Johnson’s coronavirus lockdown.

Between March 16 and March 31,950,000 people successfully applied for universal credit payments, up from about 100,000 in a normal two-week period, according to government figures.