Speaking after the result became clear, Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation said:

“The City of London has thrived as a financial and trading centre for more than a thousand years and will continue to do so.

“There will be no mass exit of banks and financial institutions from the Square Mile.

“While there will be uncertainty as Brexit negotiations go on we are still the financial centre of the fifth-largest economy in the world.

“The task now is to respect the will of the British people and secure the best deal we can in the negotiations that will follow this vote.

“Financial services contribute £66.5bn in taxes to the Treasury - 11% of total government receipts - and City businesses I have consulted believe they must be allowed access to the single market without discrimination.

“Financial and professional services account for 2.1million jobs in the UK - 7.2% of workers – and City businesses I have consulted believe we must be allowed to trade with passporting rights with the 27 member states of the EU.

“The Government should now engage in a period of consultation to ensure we can keep creating jobs both in London and throughout the country.

“The general view of the City is that the Government should push for the UK to retain our access to the Single Market.

“Any other option will fail to provide proper arrangements for financial services and risks damaging this vital industry.

“There is also a clear view in the City of London that our labour market must be kept flexible. European nations have provided much of the highly-skilled talent we need to succeed and this level of support given to the British economy must continue.

“For our part the City of London Corporation will continue to engage with EU policy makers and continue to promote London as Europe’s international financial and business centre.

“We have had a thorough, open and democratic debate.

“All sides of this debate must now put aside their differences to do what is in the best interests of ensuring the UK remains a success on the international stage.”