Dominic Raab has said the government will not consider a proposal put forward by 100 opposition MPs that calls for a universal basic income.

Raab, speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions in replacement of Boris Johnson, said he “doesn’t agree” that the government should hand out universal income during the Covid-19 crisis.

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“The chancellor has quite rightly adopted and announced a series of measures, second to none in the world, to support workers though the job retention scheme, to make sure people who don’t qualify get an increase in Universal Credit,” he said.

“We need to have a very focussed approach and giving resources to those that need it most.

“With a universal income without being based on need wouldn’t provide that.”

A letter, published in the FT today, signed by more than 100 opposition MPs called for a universal basic income for every Briton to limit the fallout of the coronavirus crisis.

Westminster SNP leader Ian Blackford, Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell all signed the letter.

No one from Labour’s frontbench has put their name to the proposal.

Blackford, speaking at PMQs, said it was “right economic policy at the right time”.

“The simple fact is that many people are being left behind, many people are not getting an income right now,” he said.

It was also the first PMQs to feature new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who began by asking Raab how Public Health England would hit the government’s target of administering 100,000 coronavirus tests per day by the end of the month.

Read more: Downing Street stands by 100,000 daily coronavirus tests target

Yesterday, just 18,000 tests were administered despite there being capacity for 40,000.

Raab said: “We are working with a range of commercial partners to boost the testing to get to that 100, 000 tests a day.

“Two of our super labs are now fully functional and the Glasgow [super lab] will be open later this week.”