CAMPAIGNERS called for Virgin Atlantic to be nationalised today after billionaire owner Sir Richard Branson warned that the airline will collapse due to the Covid-19 crisis unless it receives government support.

We Own It director Cat Hobbs criticised the tax exile for asking for a loan of up to £500 million — Virgin Trains received a £2 billion bailout for the East Coast line in 2018 and Virgin Care sued the NHS in 2017.

She said: “We call on the government to take a 51 per cent stake in the company and use it to save jobs and tackle the climate crisis, reducing the damage done by aviation.”