Ian Burke, the chief executive of bingo group Rank has hit out at Labour’s “myopic and inconsistent policy-making”, criticising Gordon Brown’s Government.

In a letter to the Telegraph, Mr Burke said “At Rank, we too have suffered from the present Government’s inconsistent approach to regulating and taxing leisure businesses and believe that our financial pain foreshadows a deeper and more damaging societal impact,”

He went on to say “……our primary aim is to bring excitement and enjoyment to the lives of our customers in social and safe environments outside the home. We employ more than 8,000 people, who take pride in what they do for a living and we generate significant revenues for the economy, at both a local and a national level.”

In 2007, Rank’s operations, which include over 100 bingo clubs as well as 32 casinos, generated £166m for the Exchequer and local government in VAT, gambling duties, income tax, national insurance and local business rates. Despite such contributions Mr Burke said: “In recent years our industry has found itself under increasing financial pressure as a result of government policies.

“Since the start of 2007, 59 bingo clubs in Britain have been forced into closure by heavy-handed regulation and the oppressive ‘double taxation’ system”, with bingo the only mainstream gambling product paying both gross profits tax and VAT. The creation of new jobs through further investment in this sector has been stifled by myopic and inconsistent policy-making,”.