Helia Ebrahimi , Economics Correspondent

One of the most immediate issues facing MPs in ‘Red Wall’ constituencies is the future of the steel industry, amid fears that thousands of jobs could be lost if Liberty Steel goes under.

The business secretary will hold emergency talks with unions this evening after a £170 million request from Sanjeev Gupta was turned down over the weekend to bail out Liberty Steel.

Pressure is growing on David Cameron to explain his advisory work for the collapsed financial services firm Greensill. Labour today said an investigation was needed into the former prime minister’s lobbying role.

We have some new information about what he’s been up to.

The company’s main lender, Greensill Capital, collapsed last week throwing the future of its 12 UK plants and thousands of jobs into doubt.

The Office for National Statistics said that in January exports of goods from the UK to the EU dropped by a staggering 40 per cent. The government said lockdowns, stockpiling and businesses adjusting to new trading relationships make reductions inevitable. But it is a figure that is causing alarm among businesses.

The sums of money consumed by the Test and Trace programme in England are mind-boggling.

The latest forecast from the government’s Budget watchdog, the OBR, points to a stronger recovery from the Covid crisis than previously predicted.

The Chancellor is promising to use the “fiscal firepower” of the government in his Budget tomorrow to get Britain’s economy back on track.

Retail sales dropped by the largest amount on record last year, with many shops forced to close for months because of lockdown.  

The lockdown is taking  a “devastating toll” on the mental health of young people, according to a major survey by the Prince’s Trust and shown exclusively to this programme.  

There is more evidence that things will get tougher before they get better, as figures showed the UK economy shrank by 2.6% in November as England went into lockdown for a second time. 

EU ambassadors say they have given a “green light” to Britain’s post-Brexit trade deal, due to come into force on Friday. Focus now switches to MPs here, who will vote on the new agreement at a special sitting of parliament on Wednesday. Some Labour MPs say they will vote against the deal, while fishermen’s leaders…

The number of people in the UK who’ve been laid off has soared to a record high. 

There was enormous pressure to find protective clothing for NHS staff and care home workers.