CHARITY

Chancellor Philip Hammond should take a leaf out of George Osborne’s book and waive the VAT for a charity selling First World War Tommy statues, a former head of the Army has said.

A commemoration campaign called There But Not There, set up by the charity Remembered, is raising cash by selling silhouettes of Tommies ahead of the centenary Armistice Day.

But, of the £4 million that has already been raised, to date more than £800,000 has to be paid to the government in VAT – with that figure set of to increase up.

Former chief of the general staff General Lord Dannatt said Mr Hammond has a choice between a good news story and a bad one. as sales ramp