The gap in earnings between the richest and poorest Europeans had got wider even before the Covid crisis struck, official EU data shows.

The European Commission’s Social Scoreboard, which measures progress in the implementation of the Pillar of Social Rights, shows that the richest 20% of Europeans were making 4.9 times more than the poorest 20% in 2010.

Four member states – Spain, Lithuania, Romania and Latvia – were classed as having a “lower performance” on this crucial measure at the time.

But by 2019, the richest 20% were making 5.1 times more than the poorest 20% and two more member states had fallen into the lowest category – Bulgaria and Italy – despite five years’ of economic growth.

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