Brown back on game charm offensive

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has again talked up the British game industry, claiming that the nation’s developers are "by far the biggest producer of computer games in Europe."

Brown’s comments were made at the Global Investment Conference in London, where he and the business secretary Lord Mandelson offered assurance that Britain still provides good investment opportunities.

He told a packed room of that he would seek "new commitments of investment" into the sector, though – tellingly – was shy of detail.

"We’re leading the way in creative industries: by far the biggest producer of computer games in Europe," said Brown, as quoted by CVG.

"And we’re leading the way in digital communications: In a country with only one per cent of the world’s population, more than a third of all internet traffic is routed through UK servers.

"This coming week is another chance to showcase the UK. This is not just a talking shop though. There will be new commitments of investment off the back of this conference."

The Labour government has, ultimately, rejected calls for sector-specific tax breaks in the UK.

At the start of the year Brown told journalists that Britain can be the world’s creative hub.

“We are leading in the creative industries, arts, music… we have got a platform in Britain to build on the future,” he said.