The UK government should be more open-minded in its approach to Brexit and push for a less complete withdrawal from the European Union, according to the man charged with helping London firms prepare for the exit.

Rajesh Agrawal, who was appointed as London's deputy mayor for business by the city's mayor Sadiq Khan in June 2016, said that a complete, so-called hard Brexit in which UK businesses are left unable to market their products and services in Europe would be "disastrous".