Kelly: ban Oxford Street traffic

Selfridges chief executive Paul Kelly has called for London's Oxford Street to be pedestrianised following the success of Saturday's inaugural Oxford Street festival, which closed the street to traffic for the day.

Standing alongside fellow retail big hitters Philip Green, Rob Templeman and Stuart Rose, Kelly (far left) said: 'It took the focus of all the retailers in the street to regain Oxford Street for the people and to get rid of traffic. What I would like is for the street to be pedestrianised forever - not just once a year but 365 days a year. If you open up the street, the people will come.'

Footfall figures were up 38.9 per cent compared with the previous Saturday as more than 500,000 shoppers flooded Oxford Street for the festival, which included performances by singers Charlotte Church and Rachel Stevens.