Business rates relief for firms inside London Bridge police cordon

The council is offering a discretionary business rates discount for a period of up to one month for any of the businesses affected by the police cordon while forensic investigations took place.

The police crime scene examination took nearly a week – from the night of Saturday 3 June to the morning of the following Saturday – with many businesses unable to trade during this time.

Cllr Peter John, leader of the council, said: "We want to fully support our local businesses, many of which are smaller, independent shops, restaurants and cafes that would had been significantly impacted by the closures during the investigations.

"As well as offering emotional support to their staff through our Community Assistance Centre at Southwark Cathedral, we wanted to offer practical support to help them get back to business as normal during this difficult time."

The council says thast any businesses which can prove an even bigger impact will also be able to apply for hardship relief, but will need to prove the impact to their business and each case will be taken on its own merits.