At least one late-night youth club will be funded in every London borough, the mayor of London has pledged. Sir Sadiq Khan said £30m of the £50m allocated in this year’s budget for supporting young people would be used to fund a “Youth Lates” programme in the capital’s 32 boroughs.

Khan said the youth clubs would give young people “somewhere safe to go, opportunities to help them fulfil their potential, and give them the support of teams of trusted adults”.

Leader of the Conservatives on the London Assembly, Susan Hall, criticised the decision and said the money would have been better spent on police officers to “keep Londoners safe”, and said youth clubs did “not tackle criminality”.

Khan said, ‘We saw the unacceptable scenes in Clapham last week where young people broke the law and spread fear. Tougher police enforcement is part of the solution. We also need to ensure no young Londoner is left behind using all available resources.’