Ministers and the City have clashed over funding for London’s £16bn Crossrail east-west link, leaving the fate of the project in the balance. The Times

The City of London dug in its heels this week against government demands that it should raise an additional £300m or £400m from businesses in the Square Mile.

However, it is understood that ministers are determined that the City, as a beneficiary of Crossrail, must pay the extra contribution, which is barely more than 2% of the total bill.

As next month’s three-year Treasury spending review looms, time is fast running out for a deal to be brokered.

A Whitehall source said: ‘[The City of London] think that if they hold out, we will blink. We won’t.’

TUI Travel, the recently created owner of the First Choice and Thomson holiday brands, said that it had benefited from a strong recovery in demand after a weak start to the summer but added that it would cut its UK capacity by 10% next summer.