Sector leaders have welcomed prime minister Theresa May's £2bn pledge to put research and development at the heart of British industry's future.

The funding, to be formally announced in chancellor Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement tomorrow, will see a 'substantial' real-terms boost to Government investment in R&D worth an extra £2bn per year by 2020, Mrs May told the Confederation of British Industry yesterday.

Mrs May used her keynote address at the CBI to set out a range of business-friendly plans, including her ambition to ensure the UK has the lowest corporate tax rates in the G20 group of advanced economies and measures to boost productivity.

But she drew angry responses from unions after appearing to backtrack on her vow last month to put workers on company boards as a way to improve corporate governance.

In R&D, the promised money will be poured into potentially lucrative emerging fields of science and technology - such as robotics and artificial intelligence, biotech, satellites, and advanced materials.

British scientists and engineers are at the cutting edge in all these areas, creating significant opportunities for commercialisation.

Tim Whitley, BT's managing director for research and innovation, and managing director of Adastral Park, said: 'We welcome the government's recognition of the crucial role that long-term investment in R&D plays in keeping the UK ahead of the game.

'The BT Labs at Adastral Park are already recognised worldwide for their communications research, and we look forward to working with the government to enhance that global leadership role, in support of the UK's industrial strategy.'

Mrs May also said she aimed to deliver 'a tax system that is profoundly pro-innovation'.

The PM's aim to keep UK corporation tax lower than its international rivals may mean going beyond the cut from the current 20% rate to 17% by 2020 already announced by former chancellor George Osborne, as US President-elect Donald Trump has said that he will slash the equivalent tax in America to just 15%.

Is your business breaking boundaries with R&D? Email mark.shields@archant.co.uk