Independent Media | Campaigning Journalism
Branson fights back with open letter as he pleads with government to save Virgin Atlantic
Richard Branson has warned that Virgin Atlantic will collapse unless it receives government support.
The Virgin Group boss said the airline needs taxpayer support in the form of a commercial loan.
It has been reported that the carrier is asking for up to £500m of public money.
Branson put out a tweet which attempts to counter some of the criticisms that have been levelled at his businesses:
An open letter to our Virgin family. For 50 years I have been humbled by the incredible pride our people take in working for Virgin. Here are the facts about Virgin businesses: https://t.co/Nv1RLBhp3j pic.twitter.com/BneE0mZ0Zg
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) April 20, 2020
In an open letter to Virgin Group employees, Branson wrote: “We will do everything we can to keep the airline going – but we will need Government support to achieve that in the face of the severe uncertainty surrounding travel today and not knowing how long the planes will be grounded for.
“This would be in the form of a commercial loan – it wouldn’t be free money and the airline would pay it back (as easyJet will do for the £600 million loan the Government recently gave them).
“The reality of this unprecedented crisis is that many airlines around the world need government support and many have already received it.
“Without it there won’t be any competition left and hundreds of thousands more jobs will be lost, along with critical connectivity and huge economic value.”
We need your help ...
The coronavirus pandemic is changing our world, fast. And we will do all we can to keep bringing you news and analysis throughout. But we are worried about maintaining enough income to pay our staff and minimal overheads.
Now, more than ever, we need a vibrant, independent media that holds the government to account and calls it out when it puts vested economic interests above human lives. We need a media that shows solidarity with the people most affected by the crisis – and one that can help to build a world based on collaboration and compassion.
We have been fighting against an establishment that is trying to shut us down. And like most independent media, we don’t have the deep pockets of investors to call on to bail us out.
Can you help by chipping in a few pounds each month?
Support us -
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.
Oh Richard Branson when you pay your taxes from Britain then one could ask with cap out
Sorry about the people he employs but his track record shows he doesn’t care much about them normally. Why should Britain subsidise this tax avoider? He could save them from his own private fortune if his employees are so important to him. This is the man who sued NHS England because he lost out on a contract.
The absolute nerve of these psychopaths is breath taking. Denmark has the answer to these leeches. Companies which pay out dividends to shareholders, buy back own shares or are registered in tax havens won’t be eligible for any of the country’s aid programs. The “to big to fail” syndrome has got to end. The privatise profit and socialise the losses that the right wing along with its propaganda machines never mention.
No mention of the Tory “free market” mantra of the 70s now is their ?
Let him borrow money at the same commercial rate students are expected to pay back the cost of their education.
If he doesn’t pay tax here, he can whistle for a preferential deal.
Not even a groat you tax-avoiding leech…………sod off & wait for CV-19 to get you.
A parasite’s gotta parasite.
“Virgin has invested more than £75m pounds into the NHS. Virgin has never and will never take a penny out of the NHS.”
Branson sued the NHS in 2017 and won an undisclosed amount.
I agree with all the comments here but would add that how strange it is that when companies like his Make money it’s all theirs and they avoid tax like the plague but when they start to lose cash they expect and demand that the very same tax payers they avoid adding to, give or lend them money. We bailed out the banks and look house they paid us back !!