Conductor Simon Rattle says cutting UK tax relief for orchestras would be a catastrophe

Plea to protect arts funding as a growing number of city and county councils face bankruptcy

Sir Simon Rattle, the world-renowned British conductor, has urged the government not to slash crucial tax relief for orchestras, after the collapse of regional funding for the arts.

Speaking to the Observer this weekend, Rattle, who made his name with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the 1980s, is calling on Westminster politicians not to allow classical music and the wider arts to be forgotten as a growing number of city and county councils face bankruptcy and decide to defund" the arts.