MERSEYSIDE’S tourism and inward investment agency will not be altered at the whim of the public sector, its chief executive said last night.

Lorraine Rogers, The Mersey Partnership’s (TMP) chief executive, came out fighting for her organisation’s independence and sought to undermine speculation it could be merged with another agency or scrapped.

But Ms Rogers admitted a drop in public sector funding will mean TMP will have to be more commercial and will rely on money from the city region’s businesses more.

It comes a week after TMP chair Rod Holmes said he wanted the body to take the lead on forming a Local Enterprise Partnership, which could fill some of the gaps left when the North West Development Agency (NWDA) closes its doors.

The Daily Post can also reveal a review ordered by Liverpool City Council leader Joe Anderson into the future of both TMP and the city’s regeneration body Liverpool Vision had some of its funding axed.

Cllr Anderson ordered the review and asked Liverpool John Moores University academic Prof Michael Parkinson to head it.

The study was due to be jointly funded by the council and the NWDA. But last night the council confirmed the NWDA had pulled its cash and the review was being “reconfigured”.

It will now conclude at the end of July, which is a month earlier than planned.