Sadiq Khan pushes for post Brexit London work visas

City Hall is working on proposals for a separate work permit system for London as the capital looks to carve out a bespoke deal on immigration in Brexit Britain.

Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, told Sky News that a group of business representatives were "working on a model that will ensure we can carry on recruiting and attracting talent".

He also confirmed that he had been in discussions with the chancellor Philip Hammond as well as David Davis, the Brexit secretary and his predecessor and now foreign secretary Boris Johnson on the issue.

:: Khan calls for delay in setting off the Brexit clock

He is also due to meet the prime minister Theresa May to lobby for London's interests in any Brexit deal.

"We are talking to business leaders, businesses, business representatives to see what we can do to make sure London doesn't lose out on the talent, the innovation the partnership that has let us be the greatest City in the world.

"The good news is the Government gets it. The good news is in all the conversations I've had with members of the Government, from the Chancellor to the Brexit Secretary to the Foreign Secretary and others in Government, I think they get it.

"I'll be meeting the Prime Minister soon to discuss our issues but I think the Government recognises it is in nobody's interests for us to get a bad deal with the EU."

:: Khan: Labour must 'walk the walk' of power

Mr Khan said it was "crucial" that the Government recognised we need to be able to recruit talent to London and last month told Sky News that he wanted the Government to delay leaving the EU until late 2017 to give time for Brexit negotiators to "square the circle" of ending freedom of movement into Britain, while retaining access to the single market.

Londoners overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU. The Vote Leave victory prompted a petition calling for London to be declared independent from the UK.

Mr Khan responded by saying as much as he "might like the idea of a London city state", he was "not planning to blockade the M25".

However, he is pushing for more autonomy for London and has a demanded a seat at the table when it comes to Ms May's Brexit negotiations.

Asked to clarify if he was advocating a system of separate work visas for the capital, the London mayor said: "In principle I want to make sure that my job as the mayor means supporting businesses to grow and expand, encouraging business to come into London.

"The three most important words I say when I go around the world is 'London is open'."