Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced millions of public sector workers will be hit with a pay freeze, including a number of those working on the Isle of Wight.

The chancellor says public sector pay will be frozen next year, but low-paid and NHS workers will still get raises.

While nurses, doctors and other NHS workers will receive a pay rise, other public sector workers will not, unless their pay is under £24,000, in which case he guarantees a pay rise of at least £250.

Mr Sunak said he could not justify an across-the-board rise when many in the private sector had seen their pay and working hours cut during the crisis.

He said the majority of public sector workers will see their pay increase in 2021, but pay rises in the rest of the public sector will be paused to protect jobs.

The minimum wage, meanwhile, will increase by 2.2 per cent ­— or 19p.

It takes the National Living Wage to £8.91 an hour, with the rate extended to those aged 23 and over.

The devastation caused by Covid-19 will see the economy shrink by its largest amount for 300 years, and Government borrowing reach levels previously unseen in peacetime.

Mr Sunak warned there would be lasting damage, with the economy shrinking by 11.3 per cent in 2020 and not recovering to pre-crisis levels until the end of 2022.