Viking visit

Twice, the Prime Minister who is a big fan of Tuscany, failed to answer a question from a waiting reporter about whether he would take a break in Britain this year. Instead he swept through the crowds of waiting families making no response.

On a visit to a Viking tourist attraction in the city, enthusiastic Mr Blair even tried to pose for a picture with a Japanese TV journalist, apparently mistaking him for a tourist.

The tour was also used as a platform to announce the Government will provide £120m of loans underwriting to help small tourist and retail businesses suffering from a loss of trade.

£6m campaign

According to the British Hospitality Association, the foot and mouth crisis - which has now reached 1,041 premises - could cost the tourist industry at least £5bn by September, jeopardising a large number of jobs.

Mr Blair also announced a £6m Government-funded promotional campaign, organised in conjunction with the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourist Council, designed to make the case for the British tourism.

Income slashed

With income from tourism down by as much as 80 per cent in parts of the country worst hit by the outbreak, the Government is desperate to demonstrate that Britain is not in quarantine.

Mr Blair's efforts were being backed up by those of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who went out on the Norfolk Broads in an attempt to persuade tourists to return to the countryside. He was also visiting Shropshire and Cheshire.