LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government should provide direct support to strategic manufacturing sectors and companies, particularly in aerospace, automotive and steel production, to help them through the coronavirus crisis, trade body Make UK said on Monday.
Make UK said as Britain moved into the recovery phase, the government should adopt a "more radical approach" to protect those sectors and companies by ensuring firms are able to access capital to service debt.
"These companies are in key strategic sectors for the UK internationally and provide substantial numbers of highly skilled jobs across the UK and down through their supply chains," said Make UK Chief Executive Stephen Phipson.
"Many are also in regions which would suffer disproportionate economic harm if they did not survive. Government should therefore intervene directly to provide support and ensure their survival," Phipson said in a statement.