Boris Johnson’s Flybe action is aimed at keeping Britain’s regions on board

No sooner does the newly elected Boris Johnson government get under way than it’s hit with the sort of dilemma all too familiar to those who have followed Britain’s economic and industrial woes these past few decades.

A company hits the buffers and turns to Downing Street for help. The prime minister accedes or refuses, and a furious row ensues. If assistance is forthcoming those against intervention do their nut; if it is rejected, ministers are accused of behaving in a heartless fashion. The government cannot win.

So it is with Flybe, the regional airline. It’s in trouble. Three Whitehall departments – Business, Transport and Treasury – put their heads together and agree to defer £100m of air passenger duty. Apart from that, the precise details of the deal remain scarce. There appears to be a pledge to review “regional connectivity”, and the firm’s owners, Virgin Atlantic, Stobart and the hedge fund Cyrus, seem to be promising “additional funding”.