Asda chairman Lord Stuart Rose has welcomed the government’s decision to scrap working from home guidance in England from today, telling LBC he cannot believe we have a “nation sitting at home” due to Covid-19 fears.
The interview, which saw Lord Rose speaking to Nick Ferrari earlier this morning, also saw the retail veteran expressing his concerns over the cost of living crisis and inflation.
Commenting on the return to office working, which officially begins today, Lord Rose said: “Hallelujah! I’ve been calling for it for months.”
He continued: “I cannot believe we have sat here for so long, I am angry almost, to the extreme.”
Lord Rose, who is in his 70s, told listeners to the radio station that he has been continuing to go to work throughout the pandemic. He has also been struck with the virus twice, despite having had all three coronavirus vaccinations.
Read more: Face masks rules scrapped from next Thursday
“I cannot believe we have a nation sitting at home now cowered by this government, because they are fearful of this virus, which has been unpleasant and has killed a lot of people, but is something we now have to live with.”
Lord Rose also spoke about the surging living costs across the UK, describing the cost of the living crisis and rising inflation as the “next crisis on the horizon” – and one which he believes will last more than 18 months.
“Forget about Covid. Been there, seen it, done it, had the t-shirt. The real next thing is looking after the welfare of people as we go forward because some people are going to be very severely affected by this economic squeeze.”
This morning’s comments come after yesterday’s announcement that most Plan B measures will end next Thursday – including the requirement to wear face masks in shops – with work from home advice dropped immediately.
The legal requirement for people testing positive with coronavirus to self-isolate is also expected to be allowed to lapse when the regulations expire on 24 March 2022.
Click here to sign up to Grocery Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
1 Comment. Leave new
Well done mr rose.. a man that has common sense ..