"Even on London Transport, where it is supposed to be a condition of carriage, just like paying a fare, the policy is coming apart at the seams and as more people see others failing to comply, the situation will escalate quickly over the autumn," he said.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, also welcomed the deal but said it was "vital" that production "is restarted as soon as possible, and [CO2 is] distributed quickly to food manufacturers in need of it".

High levels of government coronavirus support, combined with less money coming into the exchequer due to the pandemic and a fall in economic output, have pushed government debt up to more than £2.2 trillion, or about 97.6% of GDP - a level not seen since the early...