The leader of Harrow Council wrote to the prime minister urging his Government to fully reimburse local authorities for additional costs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Cllr Graham Henson said he has “deep concerns” at suggestions ministers would not grant “full financial support” to help councils manage the impact of the crisis.

It comes after local government secretary Robert Jenrick said it was “too early to tell” if councils would be given more funding in their responses to covid-19.

He added the Government would only pay for services it had handed down to local authorities, noting it would not want to give the “false impression that (everything councils) were doing is guaranteed to be funded”.

Cllr Henson said this goes against what was promised at the start of the pandemic, where he suggested the Government said it would provide “whatever funding is needed for councils to get through this and come out the other side”.

In his letter to Boris Johnson, he said: “If you renege on the promises made by your ministers that we would be properly funded, it will have a devastating impact on the services we will be able to provide in future.

“You will be failing our communities, families and businesses at a time when they need us most.

“You will be failing our frontline staff, who selflessly put themselves in harms way.

“If we are to get through this crisis and rebuild a cohesive and stronger society, we now need the Government to play its part and honour its financial commitments.”

Harrow, which has one of the highest mortality rates associated with Covid-19 in the UK, has received more than £13 million in government support so far.

But the council anticipates the impact of the outbreak will set it back up to £40 million in extra costs and lost revenue.

Its request for financial support comes as pressure group the Taxpayers’ Alliance called for a freeze on council tax to support people across the country who have been affected by the pandemic.

And the borough’s Conservative Group urged it to focus on delivering business coronavirus support payments rather than pleading for more money after statistics showed it has paid out the lowest percentage of grants in England.

Cllr Adam Swersky, responsible for finance and emergency response at Harrow Council, said: “Even before the crisis began, 97 per cent of all councils were forced to raise tax this year just to make ends meet. The crisis has made this far, far worse.

“We have a responsibility to our residents to keep essential services going. We will do whatever it takes to support Harrow’s residents through the crisis. We’re all in this together.”