Long-term sickness has forced a record 2.6m people out of work, as NHS waiting lists continue to soar. 

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that more Britons than ever are inactive because of long-term ailments, according to data for the three months to June. 

They now account for 29.6pc of the population who are neither in employment nor looking for a job, up from 25.2pc before the pandemic.  

It comes just days after it emerged NHS waiting lists had grown despite Rishi Sunak’s pledge to cut them. 

Around 7.6m people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment at the end of June, the highest since records began in 2007.