Jean-Pierre Garnier, the outgoing chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has said the government's tax environment has to be 'favourable' to retain the best jobs in the UK.

Garnier's comments come after Shire, the pharmaceuticals group, opted to set up a holding company tax resident in Ireland to protect it from forthcoming changes to foreign profits taxation.

'We value our roots in the UK, but the business environment has to be realistic and favourable so that it doesn't impair our ability to compete globally,' The Times reported Garnier as saying.

Garnier, who serves on the Prime Minister's International Business Advisory Council, added: 'Any tax change in a country has to take into account the fact that other countries are trying to attract our best jobs and I am confident that the Government will do what's right for the country. I am convinced that this Government is listening hard to business and I know Mr Brown is very conscious of the need to compete globally.'

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