The government is extending its furlough scheme until the end of October, the chancellor has said.

Rishi Sunak made the announcement in the House of Commons this afternoon and in a series of tweets. He said the initiative, which sees the government pay 80% of people’s wages up to £2,500 a month, would have been up and running for eight months by November.

The scheme, which Sunak said is helping pay the salaries of 7.5 million workers, up from 6.3 million last week, was originally due to have finished at the end of this month and was later extended until June 30.

But Sunak said: “Until the end of July, there will be no changes to the scheme whatsoever.

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