Mansion House dinner is called off

The annual Mansion House dinner, due to feature speeches from Chancellor Philip Hammond and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has been cancelled after the Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

Mr Hammond pulled out of speaking at the event yesterday, releasing a statement on Twitter saying “in view of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, I have withdrawn from giving the Mansion House speech tonight”.

“My thoughts are with the local community,” he added.

The City of London Corporation confirmed shortly afterwards that the dinner would not go ahead.

A spokesman for the corporation said: “In the light of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we are cancelling tonight’s Mansion House Dinner.

“Our thoughts are focused with the victims and their families and friends.”

The Chancellor was set to use his speech to reassure businesses they would still have access to investment funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) after Brexit.

Current EIB lending to the UK is worth around £42 billion and has supported projects such as new Intercity and London Underground trains and new tram networks in Manchester and Nottingham.