THE government should intervene to save tour company Thomas Cook from collapse, a travel union leader has said, arguing that to do so would cost less than the repatriation of 150,000 British holidaymakers.

Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) general secretary Manuel Cortes made the call yesterday after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab pledged: “We have got all the contingency planning to make sure no-one will be stranded.

“I don't want to give all the details of it because it depends on the nature of how people are out there, whether they have got a package holiday or whether they just paid for the flights and sorted out something separately.