Virgin boss Richard Branson threw down a gauntlet in the war against smoking by offering to stage an alternative British Grand Prix free of tobacco sponsorship.

Mr Branson said if motor-racing teams continued to threaten to pull out of Silverstone and other European events in the face of a sponsorship ban he would ''call them up on their bluff''.

He told the summit: ''I pledge today that Virgin will set up a rival spectacle, if necessary world wide, and that goes for any sport that claims it cannot survive without cigarette advertising.''

Mr Branson said the motor racing industry could afford to do without tobacco sponsorship if drivers were paid ''a quarter of a million pounds instead of #5m to #10m a year''.

He said he managed to give up smoking himself two years ago only after a 10-year struggle. He be-lieved in individual freedom and thought adults should be allowed to make an informed choice about whether or not to smoke.

However, children needed to be protected. He thought it ''completely immoral'' for the tobacco industry to promote its products in a way which obviously appealed to children.