Lord Mayor ‘Should Curb Overseas Visits’

The Lord Mayor of London should undertake fewer overseas trade promotion visits, according to a confidential report intended to pave the way for the modernisation of one of the world's oldest political offices.

Sky News has learnt that a document handed to the City of London Corporation in recent weeks advises that the Lord Mayor should refocus the trade promotion aspects of his or her work on "more intensive" trips which result in more meaningful deals being agreed.

The recommendation is contained in a report written by Sir Simon Fraser, a former top civil servant at the Foreign Office and Department for Business, who is now a partner at Flint Global, a consultancy.

Sir Simon was commissioned by the City of London Corporation to review its trade promotional activities and assess opportunities to strengthen its work at a time when TheCityUK, a lobbying group, has earned wide plaudits for its role in flying the flag for one of Britain's most significant industries.

The report also urges the Corporation to work more actively in areas such as financial policy and regulation across the professional, banking and financial services sectors.

The Lord Mayor, who lives at Mansion House, typically spends around 190 days on foreign visits during their year in office, and is arguably the most prominent international ambassador for the City.

"There is a sense that the Lord Mayor's overseas visits are of little more than ceremonial importance and that the holder of the office should be able to deliver more tangible results," said one person familiar with the report's contents.

The current Lord Mayor, Lord Mountevans, a shipbroker, is the 688th person to hold the title, which confers an important role overseeing the political work of the City of London Corporation.

The delivery of Sir Simon's report comes amid intense debate about the implications for the City of a possible British exit from the European Union.

A number of Wall Street's biggest banks have donated to the campaign to avoid Brexit, while a number of prominent hedge fund managers are enthusiastically backing the campaign for the UK to leave.

Sir Simon's report, which is due to be presented to Corporation members later on Thursday, is also said to examine the role of the Corporation's policy chairman - currently held by Mark Boleat, who is due to step down next year.

A spokesman for the Corporation declined to comment.