‘Business cash cow has been milked,’ CBI chair tells ministers

Rupert Soames suggested businesses could live with the increase in national insurance contributions if other policies were tweaked. Photograph: Dinendra Haria/LNP

The chair of the Confederation of British Industry, Rupert Soames, accused the government of treating employers as a “cash cow” on Monday as he urged ministers to water down plans for workers’ rights.

“It’s been tough on business. In the budget, business has been the cash cow and it’s been milked. Don’t go and whack it,” Soames warned at the CBI’s annual conference in Westminster.