NEWS | The government is considering introducing an extra bank holiday, possibly in October around the time of half-term.

The idea was put forward by the UK’s tourism agency Visit Britain.

Its acting head, Patricia Yates, told MPs on Tuesday the industry had lost the benefit of two bank holidays in May because of the coronavirus lockdown.

Downing Street said the government was supporting the tourism industry through this “challenging period” and would “respond in due course” to the proposal by Visit Britain.