UK bank bosses have launched a frantic lobbying effort in an attempt to persuade their foreign counterparts to put on hold plans to shift operations to other major European cities.

According to senior City figures in Davos, international banks are being asked to resist moving jobs, “for the good of London”, until it becomes clearer that the UK can hammer out a transitional deal with Brussels.

The campaign is a concerted effort by the UK’s top banks to limit the damage that Brexit could inflict on the City’s status as the world’s premier financial hub. It is expected to be ratcheted up in the wake of the Prime Minister’s “Brexit blueprint speech” last week.