The Mayor of London has rejected plans for London's newest skyscraper, The Tulip, describing it as "poorly designed" and having "very limited public benefit".

The floral bud-shaped cultural centre was planned to be London's newest tourist attraction and projected to rise to over 1,000ft, more than three times the height of Big Ben.

A spokesperson for the Mayor's Office said: "The mayor has a number of serious concerns with this application and having studied it in detail has refused permission for a scheme that he believes would result in very limited public benefit.

"In particular, he believes that the design is of insufficient quality for such a prominent location, and that the tower would result in harm to London’s skyline and impact views of the nearby Tower of London World Heritage Site.

"The proposals would also result in an unwelcoming, poorly-designed public space at street level."