CELEBRATED stage and film actor Jonathan Pryce today criticised the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition for sweeping cuts to the Arts sector.

His comments came during a ceremony to name him a Companion of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts alongside six other entertainment industry stars including Band Aid co-founder Midge Ure.

Pryce, who formerly worked at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre and has appeared in around 50 movies, said: "It's extraordinary that at this time of recession the theatres are booming.

"Yet one of the first acts of this Tory-Lib Dem government is to axe the Film Council.

"Thatcher dismantled funding for regional theatre so I've got the feeling the Tories don't like us and see culture as an elitist art form for people who can afford to pay for it.

"What they fail to see is that it's something that impacts on the quality of everyone's life."

Pryce, who returned to the Everyman last year for an acclaimed performance of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, was presented with companionship by LIPA co-founder Sir Paul McCartney during the organisation's graduation ceremony at the Philharmonic Hall this afternoon.