Rishi Sunak vows to slash number of boarded-up shops on UK high streets

Britain’s biggest retailers have urged the former chancellor to cut business tax

Mr Sunak will also pledge to expand police powers in public places (Reuters)

Rishi Sunak has vowed to take action to reduce the number of boarded-up shops on Britain’s high streets by the middle of the decade if he wins the Tory leadership contest.

The former chancellor, who has struggled to gain momentum in the race to replace Boris Johnson in No 10, said he would remove the hurdles that stand in the way of local authorities quickly seizing and repurposing empty commercial buildings.

In an attempt to target antisocial behaviour, Mr Sunak will also pledge to expand police powers in public places, and to double fixed penalty notices for those who graffiti or drop litter in town centres.