Reaction: Boris Johnson pledges ‘game-changing’ £1.6bn bailout for cultural sector

Industry applauds rescue package - but critics say the funding may come too late for many institutions

West End
London’s near deserted West End during lockdown
(Image credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Boris Johnson is throwing a £1.57bn lifeline to the UK’s struggling arts and heritage sector in a bid to prevent further lay-offs and permanent closures of institutions nationwide.

The long-awaited rescue package is being described by the government as “the biggest one-off investment in UK culture” and follows “weeks of desperate warnings that the UK was facing an irreversible cultural catastrophe without targeted support”, The Guardian says.

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