Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday (2 March), Kwarteng said he believed the chancellor had already publicly indicated the government would be extending furlough.

He added there would be other support measures contained within the chancellor’s Budget statement.

"It used to be the case that Budgets weren’t divulged that often," said Kwarteng. "I’m not prepared to go into particular details as the chancellor is going to be introducing his budget tomorrow."

Kwarteng also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that people could assume that while lockdown persists, there would continue to be support available.

An extension to furlough has been a key priority for Abta and other travel industry bodies.

Writing for TTG on Tuesday (2 March), Abta’s director of public affairs Luke Petherbridge said: "We also hope to see the extension of the furlough scheme and business rates support, with support expected to be confirmed initially until the summer."