Cull costs London £1.3 billion

Written by Ben Leapman, Political Reporter and published in London Evening Standard on Thu 23rd Aug 2001

London businesses will lose £1.3 billion this year as tourists avoid Britain because of foot-and-mouth disease, latest figures show.

Ministers have accepted the figure, calculated by experts at Nottingham University, as the best estimate of lost spending in the capital.

Major hotel chains have blamed the disease for a slump in overseas bookings which follows the worldwide broadcast of television pictures of burning carcasses. The strong pound is also said to be a factor.

Tourists normally spend £8billion a year in London, but this year that figure is down by more than 15 per cent. Nationally, tourist spending is expected to be down by £7.5billion.

Tourism Minister Kim Howells revealed the figures in a letter to Lib-Dem Euro-MP Sarah Ludford, who is calling for more state aid for firms hit by the outbreak. The Government is spending £5bn to help farmers; by contrast, tourist chiefs have been given only £18million extra - including £2million for London.