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'Dear Boris - please look 3.9m people in the eye and tell them why their jobs don’t matter'

Government
Sophie Griffiths
16 June 2021

Dear Boris,

I assume I can call you that – that is, after all, the affable way you like to present yourself. Boris Johnson – friend of the people. But not it seems, friend of business. Or at least travel businesses.

How can Boris Johnson, a man who likes to quote Latin, fail to understand the simple reason the travel industry is on its knees?

Which brings me to the point of this letter. I write to you not as the prime minister, but as leader of the so-called party of business. So-called because this party has been anything but the party of business to the travel industry.

Is it ignorance, I wonder? Are you even aware of the importance of this sector? Did you know for instance, that the outbound leisure and business travel sectors are worth an estimated £37.1 billion to the UK economy, and the inbound sector is worth an estimated £28 billion?

Or do you simply not care?