Labour says firms will be penalised for late payments to suppliers

Jonathan Reynolds, business secretary, says late payments cost the UK economy as much as £11bn a year. Photograph: Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Keir Starmer has warned businesses who persistently delay payments to their suppliers that it is “time to pay up” as the government prepares to impose fines and penalties on repeat offenders.

In what Labour has billed as the toughest crackdown on late payments in a generation, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will say on Thursday that the changes will slash a cost to the economy that has escalated to £11bn a year.