Thomas Cook Crisis: Could the government have done more?
Labour says the government should have helped - but Boris Johnson says it would have set up a 'moral hazard'
The British government should have stepped in with a temporary rescue package for collapsed travel firm Thomas Cook, according to the opposition Labour Party's finance spokesman John McDonnell.
"I'm disappointed ... I just think the government should have been willing to just do more: intervene, stabilise the situation and then allow a longer term plan to develop," McDonnell told the BBC.
But Boris Johnson has already rejected those calls.
He's revealed the company asked for help but described it as 'setting up a moral hazard'.
"It is a very difficult situation and obviously our thoughts are very much with the customers of Thomas Cook, the holiday makers who may now face difficulties getting home we will do our level best to get them home," he told reporters on a plane as he headed to the UN General Assembly in New York.
The liquidation marks the end of one of Britain's oldest companies that started life in 1841 running local rail excursions before it survived two world wars to pioneer package holidays and mass tourism.
Published: by Radio NewsHub