Cash plea by museums

Priceless art works could be sold abroad unless museums and galleries get an extra £115 million a year, the Government will be warned today. Directors of Britain's flagship cultural institutions, including the Tate and the V&A, say the extra money is needed to stem a crisis in museum

funding, including the threat of staff cuts.

Their cash bid is backed by a new London School of Economics report saying Britain's museums bring in £2 billion a year for the economy despite relatively small grants.