THE executive director of the Liverpool Shanghai Partnership (LSP) has announced he is to quit, just 10 days before the start of the World Expo in Shanghai.

Dr Kerry Brown revealed his decision by e-mail this morning after more than three years with the organisation but said he will “continue to support and help the LSP”.

He leaves at a crucial time for the relationship between the sister cities, with Liverpool having a presence at the six-month World Expo which opens on May 1.

Dr Brown said: “The Expo will generate a huge number of new contacts and opportunities for partners in Shanghai and Liverpool. It will need a fresh approach and a new team to be able to carry these forward, both over the coming months, and into the future when the Expo closes in October.

“In view of that, I thought it best to step down from being the Executive Director of the LSP at the end of May, so that a new arrangement can be bought into play over the coming months that best serves the city and its link with Shanghai in view of the new context the Expo work will bring.