The London Assembly's Economy Committee attacked BT for limiting the capitals economic performance through low broadband speeds.

The Assembly listened to a range of experts who detailed that London failed to appear in the list of 30 of the most performing cities and that the impact of low broadband speeds was hampering the growth of SMEs.

Chair of the Economy Committee, Andrew Dismore, said: "London's broadband is becoming the 21st century equivalent of tin cans on a string. There is no doubt that this is having a detrimental effect on the capital's competitiveness and is hampering both old and new businesses”.

BT's Andrew Campling said that the stats used by the committee were incorrect, saying that “I don't accept that it is slow in London”.