Speaking at a Business Link event, he said: ‘Small businesses you are the motor of recovery, as London will show. It’s London that will pull us out of the recession – as it did in the 1930s.’

‘Confidence is now perceptively starting to grow. In March, 58 per cent of businesses said they have plans to grow; in April this was 59 per cent. And we can build on that.

The Mayor pointed to the tourism industry as a strong sector in the capital. ‘There are a lot of good things emerging in the undergrowth, retail, theatre revenues and restaurants. There are a lot of robust sectors in the London economy. And it’s our job to talk them up – it’s not all doom and gloom.’

Johnson’s short speech was peppered with his brand of idiosyncratic humour. Thanking the audience for coming he said: ‘It was a wise decision. You could’ve been at home watching Michael Jackson – which I know is stiff competition.’

However, a new survey of restaurants in the capital by Business Link London found that 85 per cent of respondents said that customer spend was the same or less than in the previous month.

See also: Boris backs property deal for start-ups