Roux swaps ‘unsafe’ UK for Swiss Alps

Michel Roux, the French chef and owner of the Mayfair eaterie La Gavroche, has upped sticks to the Swiss Alps because he feels Britain has become too dangerous a country to live in. "It's true," says Roux. "I moved there because I love that part of Switzerland. I love the people there. They speak French with a funny accent, they make me laugh and I don't feel I always have to look over my shoulder if I take a walk.

"Unfortunately," adds Roux, who has swapped a house near Bray in Berkshire for a stunning apartment in Crans-Montana, "Britain is not as safe as it was when I moved there 40 years ago."

Roux, a multi-millionaire, was once voted along with his brother Albert the most influential chef in Britain. He can still spend up to 90 days a year in Britain where he remains an executive director of the three-Michelin-starred Gavroche. He adds: "Of course, the tax benefits are a bonus."