Ken predicts long wait for tourist boost

London's struggling tourism industry may have to wait a year before tourists return, Ken Livingstone said today.

The Mayor was speaking from the Selfridges shop window in Oxford Street as he launched shopping week as part of the Totally London promotion campaign.

But he will not copy model Elle Macpherson, who last week took off her clothes in the window. The Mayor said: "The days when I could use my body to sell underwear are long gone, unless it's something for the larger man."

He added: "The earliest we will get long-haul tourists coming back will be the end of the year. I suspect it might be the middle of next year."

He said the decision to place concrete blocks around Parliament had not helped, though they were necessary. "They may become a permanent part of our life," he said.