Tourism chief attacks 'horrible hotels'

Tourism Minister Kim Howells today condemned Britain's hoteliers for running some of the worst establishments in the world.

He said one hotel he stayed in recently was smelly, while another was cold and unwelcoming.

The remarks - from a man who is supposed to be "selling" Britain - sparked a furious response. A spokesman for the British Hospitality Association said: "Some of our members find it quite galling when they see ministers list their faults."

And Lib-Dem MP Viscount Thurso, a hotelier by trade, said: "Kim Howells is the most woefully inadequate tourism minister we have had for a long time. He apologises for the mistakes made by his department in promoting Britain abroad, then slags the industry off."

In Mr Howells's interview, on the website ePolitix.com, he said: "We've got some of the very best [hotels] in the world - and some of the very worst."

Viscount Thurso said the comments added to the case for tourism to be removed from the Culture Department and handed over the Department for Trade and Industry.