Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has said high streets need more Government support if they are to survive.

M&S boss Marc Bolland urges Government to give more support to high streets

Speaking at the IGD Convention in London, Bolland said: “The high street is a necessary part of the British way of life, it’s the centre of gravity for social interaction.”

He said stronger support is needed on a central level in order to reinvigorate high streets.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King said the “wrong end of the high street is wrong for lots of reasons” and that empty stores should be allowed to be put to other uses.

Andrew Morgan, president of Diageo’s European operations, said that the police and courts need greater powers to deal with antisocial behaviour more severely in order to ensure high streets are places shoppers want to go.