J D Wetherspoon PLC

More than 800 pub, restaurant and hotel leaders have signed a letter urging Andy Burnham to honour his pledge to cut VAT on hospitality from 20pc to 10pc. Pub groups including Greene King, Fuller's and Wetherspoons signed the letter alongside chefs Tom Kerridge, Angela Hartnett and Heston Blumenthal, with the hotel giant Marriott and family holiday group Center Parcs also seeking to hold the Prime Minister to comments he made in February, when as mayor of Greater Manchester he said he favoured halving the levy to 10pc. The appeal comes days after Mr Burnham handed local authorities the power to impose unlimited tourist taxes, a move UKHospitality said would saddle businesses with an extra £1.6bn in costs, on top of the £6.8bn it estimates Labour's first two Budgets added to the sector's costs. The letter warned that three hospitality venues are closing every day under the highest tax burden in the economy, and that a lower rate of VAT could turn closures into openings and lost jobs into new jobs. Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, called the tourist tax a hammer blow to the industry, while Hilton UK & Ireland senior vice president Stephen Cassidy described it as a catastrophic blow for the UK hotel sector; a Government spokesman said UKHospitality's figures were based on speculation and that its own analysis shows the visitor levy would cost far less than is being reported.