AN “UNPRECEDENTED” drop in GDP announced today sparked calls for mass action to protect jobs and wages.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that GDP fell by a staggering 20.4 per cent in April, when the lockdown was in full effect and saw the majority of businesses stop trading.

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said the fall was “really unprecedented” — but that when March and April are taken together the economy shrank by 25 per cent.