LEADING directors at the Edinburgh festivals have written to Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, urging him to maintain the British Council's work throughout the world or risk "long term damage" to culture.

A recent report suggested that the British Council, the UK's oversees cultural body, will be forced to lessen work in countries in the developed world due with a planned shift of public funding to developing countries.

In the open letter, a series of influential festival leaders urge "a reconsideration of the planned balance of funding to the British Council so that it can continue to play a key role across a wide range of countries, and sustain the momentum of cultural exchange and development at this critical time for the UK on the world stage as soon as possible."

The British Council has since 1934 been the UK's main cultural body overseas, fostering "soft power" cultural interactions as well as education services.

The festival directors, including Fergus Linehan, director of the Edinburgh International Festival, and Shona McCarthy, chief executive of the Fringe, say the proposed changes are a "threat" to the institution.

The letter, also signed by directors of leading Edinburgh venues, Nick Barley, the director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the capital's other festivals, says: "This year - when the UK has never been more in need of strong international links - we write to draw attention to the threat to a British institution under your aegis which has played a pivotal role in this success.

"The British Council was instrumental in the founding of the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947 as a post-war platform for reconciliation and internationalism.

"In the seventy years since, it has worked across the International Festival, the Fringe and the growing family of Edinburgh Festivals to enable generations of artists and thinkers to connect with the world.

"Their voices have in turn championed pluralism and debate in the face of many epochal events including the fall of the Soviet Union, the Yugoslav wars, and conflict in the Arab world."

It says there is a "risk that the British Council will be forced to wind up work in key countries in the developed world due to a planned shift of public funding exclusively towards developing countries."

The letter says that although this policy decision was set "pre-Brexit, but given the events of the past year a rethink is urgently required on the part of UK Government."

The signatories to the letter say that Edinburgh during the festival season in August is a "global meeting point and market place."

It adds: "Strong cultural relations with leading Commonwealth and G20 nations are vital to enable trade and knowledge flows of ideas and creativity that benefit the UK itself as well as our partners in the developing world.

"In tandem with the growing difficulty of securing UK visas for artists from developing countries, a move to reduce the worldwide connectivity of UK arts and creative industries at this juncture would cause long term damage."

The letter concludes: "We urge a reconsideration of the planned balance of funding to the British Council so that it can continue to play a key role across a wide range of countries, and sustain the momentum of cultural exchange and development at this critical time for the UK on the world stage as soon as possible."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are committed to projecting UK influence around the world, including through the valuable work of the British Council. We are aware of the potential impact of providing the British Council with more overseas development assistance as part of its grant. We are currently working with the British Council to deliver the manifesto commitment of putting it on a secure footing, recognising the tight fiscal climate and the importance of delivering Brexit.”