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.