Councillors banned the sale or supply of fur in Islington’s markets yesterday.

The licensing and regulatory committee acted on Islington Council's recommendation to outlaw fur trade at stalls in the borough, when it convened for a town hall meeting last night.

The updated street trading conditions, last revised in 2016, will come into force for all new licences from October 1 but won't apply to existing stall holders until January 1.

A petition calling for the "horrendous" fur trade to be banned in Islington markets was signed by more than 3,000 people ahead of the meeting, but town hall chiefs have been planning this policy change for months.

Islington's business chief Cllr Asima Shaikh said: "We are very pleased to announce that Islington is the first London council to ensure that no products with real fur will be sold in our markets in the future."

"While we have no reason to believe that illegally farmed fur is used in any products sold in our street markets, we think it is important that the council works hard to tackle this cruel and awful trade.

"We also understand that it can be hard for consumers to be sure about the origins and production methods used in clothes and goods containing real fur."

This comes after the Gazette last week reported the ban was due to come into force, when David Twydell, chair of Chapel Market Traders Association, argued traders should have the freedom to buy and sell animal products. He believes banning fur in Islington markets will merely push customers to stalls in other boroughs, thereby depriving traders and the local economy.

But the organisers of the aforementioned petition say they "won't stop until the UK brings in a national fur sale ban and the international fur trade is destroyed".

Another licensing shake up agreed last night means food traders must now prominently display their food hygiene rating on their stalls.