Blair urges modernisation for state of UK ecommerce

UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, launched the long-awaited Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) report on ecommerce in Cambridge yesterday.

Speaking to an audience of business executives, Blair painted a stark picture for UK companies: "In two years time the Internet could be as commonplace in the office as the telephone. If you're not exploiting the opportunities of ecommerce, you could go bankrupt."

Blair welcomed the report's findings: "The good news is that we've started well. Our large companies are more than holding their own in the global market that is the Internet."

But he warned Britain is at risk of falling behind the US and the rest of Europe unless industry and government work together towards market growth, and avoid conservatism.

He added that the government has been too slow to act on ecommerce and industry-lead self-regulation would speed up the adoption of new practises. "A Bill takes at least a year to get through Parliament. Given the pace of the Internet, it's likely to be out of date even before it comes into effect & the ball is now in the industry's court to come up with a credible scheme."

"There is a clear role for public policy. Not the old role of state subsidy, intervention or planning. But a new role: promoting competition, minimising regulation and equipping people with the skills they need."

According to Blair, all 60 of the PIU report recommendations will be implemented.

The Prime Minister also unveiled the appointment of Alex Allan as e-envoy, with the task of working in tandem with e-minister Patricia Hewitt to implement ecommerce policies and improve internal government practise.

One executive watching the speech, Dr Harley Farmer, MD of chemicals firm TecMark, welcomed the Prime Minister's remarks. "I wanted to give him a vote of thanks for believing in British business," he said.