The 10 centimetres (four inches) of snow which coated London, Europe's financial capital, Monday virtually shut down air, rail and road links, forcing thousands of workers to stay at home in the worst storms in 18 years.

With Britain in recession and facing what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says will be the worst slump in the developed world, the rare cold snap risks putting many struggling businesses into the deep freeze for good.

The Federation of Small Businesses, which represents over 200,000 businessmen, said one in five people did not make it to work Monday, costing employers up to 1.2 billion pounds (1.3 billion euros, 1.7 billion dollars).

Spokesman Stephen Alambritis said if the bad weather continues this week, that could rise to 3.5 billion pounds.

Forecasters say Scotland, south Wales and parts of southern England will bear the brunt of the snow in the coming days. It has now stopped snowing in London.

The bad weather also hit other European countries including France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain.

Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, suggested several thousand firms could go bankrupt after the snow in Britain, especially if it lingers.

"If it leads to delayed payments, the combined hit on profits and cashflow could send many businesses who might be close to the brink into premature bankruptcy," he told the Guardian newspaper.

"Many are in retail and construction, sectors likely to be most affected by snow and transport disruption."

But he added the cold weather could have an upside for some sectors.

"Consumers spend more on heating and on warm clothes, and any accidents or structural damage leads to increased spending on repairs," said McWilliams.

Howard Archer of analysts IHS Global Insight warned: "Any disruption to business is the very last thing that the UK economy needs in its current extremely weak state."

Business leaders have criticised officials in London and southeast England for not doing more to prepare for the snow, despite forecasts predicting a deluge.

David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said images of snowbound Britain were embarrassing abroad.

"All the European channels were showing images of London at a complete standstill, which was not a very positive image for the UK," he told BBC radio.

"I wonder whether we have become a bit too complacent... when something like this does happen, we are caught very much on the hop."

London Mayor Boris Johnson was criticised by his predecessor Ken Livingstone after the widespread failure of the city's public transport system Monday.

Even the city's iconic red buses, which stayed on the road during World War II German bombing raids on London, failed to run for the first time in 100 years.

British television ran pictures of bus drivers enjoying snowball fights instead.

Johnson blamed the "wrong quantity of snow" for the problems and told BBC radio that "unleashing a 12-tonne bus on to heavily packed snow or ice" would risk "turning it into a lethal weapon".

But Alambritis urged him to consult his counterparts in cities like Moscow and Vancouver on keeping public transport on track despite snowfalls.

"We need this debate," he said. "One of the world's biggest economies should not be grinding to a halt, even if it is only once every 10 years."

Snow brings deaths and travel chaos to Europe
Snow storms across western Europe killed at least five people on Monday and brought travel chaos, grounding most flights at London's Heathrow airport after one jet slid off a taxiway.

Two climbers died on Mount Snowdon in Wales and three people were killed in accidents and from the cold in Italy.

London lay under 10 centimetres (four inches) of snow, the most recorded in the British capital in 18 years. The storms also hit France and Spain, closing roads and rail tracks, and spread as far south as Morocco.

A Cyprus Airways plane with 104 passengers came off the icy taxiway at Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport, airport operator BAA said. No injuries were reported.

Both runways were temporarily closed, however, and Heathrow halted all flights for several hours. A number of other British airports were closed or had cancellations and severe delays.

British Airways called off all short-haul flights for the day, although a spokeswoman said the airline hoped to operate about 20 long-haul flights, including to the United States, Asia and Africa, on Monday evening.

She said BA had booked 2,500 hotel rooms in and around London for people who were stranded.

Eurostar advised passengers against travelling between London and Paris on high-speed trains because of snow delays.

British regional trains were badly hit and London subway and bus services at one point came to a near standstill.

The government was doing "everything in our power," to make sure transport systems ran smoothly, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

Thousands of schools closed around the country and an army of snow ploughs and gritters worked to clear roads, many of which saw gridlock despite a warning from the British Highways Agency against all but essential travel.

"It's absolute madness going in to work, but at least I can say I tried," said Bree McWilliam, an Australian policy analyst who experienced her first ever snowfall as she struggled into work.

London Mayor Boris Johnson offered temporary respite for drivers, announcing the city's eight-pound (8.8-euro, 11.3-dollar) daily congestion charge for driving into central London was suspended for the day.

The snowfall even forced football chiefs in England to extend the strict window imposed to allow clubs to sign or transfer players beyond the 1700 GMT deadline.

Italy faced grimmer news, with three people killed by the cold and torrential rainstorms. One man died from the cold in the northern town of Lecco. Another was killed in Sicily when his car was swept away by a river.

Another 500 people were evacuated from their homes in Cosenza in the southern region of Calabria. Snow also forced the cancellation of about 20 flights from Rome and Milan.

In France, Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport cancelled at least 87 flights and others were delayed. Paris-Orly also reported delays, although both were getting back to normal by mid-evening.

Some French high-speed trains were cancelled and those that did run were ordered to slow. France's roads agency also urged motorists to cancel non-essential journeys, with some roads impassable around Paris and in the east around Strasbourg, where dozens of accidents were reported.

Snow and heavy rain were forecast for different parts of France on Tuesday.

Up to 20 centimetres of snow also fell in parts of Switzerland, with part of the road around the San Bernardino tunnel was closed.

In Belgium, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) of traffic jams were reported during the morning rush hour around Brussels and other main cities.

Snowfalls also snarled traffic in several parts of Spain including the Madrid area where two highways were temporarily closed, the National Travel Administration Department (DGT) reported.

A storm packing winds of more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour injured about a dozen people in southern Spain, emergency services said.

In the Mediterranean port of Malaga, winds ripped off part of the roof from the city's main bus station. Four people were injured, including one in a serious condition.

At Estepona, near Marbella, the storm knocked down a circus tent during a performance Sunday night, slightly injuring five members of the public.

In Ireland, snow caused hazardous driving conditions and flights to Britain were disrupted with heavy snowfall expected later Monday.

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