North Yorkshire business leader David Kerfoot urges Government to 'stop panicking' over coronavirus statistics

David Kerfoot, who is standing down next year as chairman of the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said the pandemic has caused the region "a major economic shock".

And in his keynote speech to the LEP's annual conference, he said unity was needed "as both a region and a nation more than ever at any time since the 2nd World War".

"Communities and the livelihood of families and individuals have been greatly impacted.

"But our community response – with that tremendous Yorkshire spirit of grit and determination has been something we can all be very proud of.

"As an emergency , the Government have to stop panicking over every new statistic which is produced and to coordinate, plan and communicate in a way people understand."

Mr Kerfoot, who is to be replaced by Broadacres Housing Association chair Helen Simpson next year, drew comparisons between the pandemic and World War One by saying: "It was the accepted wisdom that the First World War would be over by Christmas.

"My guess is that this pandemic will take time to beat but we need to find ways of keeping our economy moving and protecting our fantastic retail, tourism and hospitality industry while at the same time protecting the most vulnerable within our communities.

"Doing this will not only protect our businesses it will also enable us to take advantage of new opportunities from new ways of working, increased digital connectivity and shorter supply chains. We will emerge stronger."