LONDON: European shares fell on Tuesday, led lower by commodities, with BP down after it said tropical storm Alex is to slow efforts to contain the oil spill and banks lower on funding worries in the euro zone. By 0712 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 1.3 percent at 1,013.78 points. Commodity stocks were under pressure as oil and copper prices dipped. Troubled oil major BP fell 2.6 percent after it said on Monday its plan to nearly double the amount of oil it can capture from the Gulf of Mexico leak will be delayed for about a week by high waves expected from tropical storm Alex. Investors were also cautious ahead of bank repayments to the European Central Bank later this week. "There are still concerns about growth coming to a grinding halt and that the sovereign debt problems are much higher than we think," said David Buik, senior partner at BGC partners. Banks fell, retreating from the gains made in the previous session as investors stayed clear of riskier asset classes. UBS and Credit Suisse slipped 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.

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