Nurses, teachers, council workers and police officers working in inner London need a 33% top-up on the national basic pay to afford to live in the capital, it found.

And those working in the City of London need a 37% top-up to cover their costs.

The six-month inquiry was commissioned by the London Assembly which fears filling public sector jobs will become impossible because of the cost of living in London.

London will, in the end, get the work force of quality it pays for

Inquiry chairman Bill Knight

It condemned current inconsistencies pointing out that police officers get twice as much in London weighting payments as teachers.

Inquiry chairman Bill Knight said: "We fully appreciate that our proposals represent significant increases in London allowances in some occupations and they can be opposed on the grounds of cost.

"But if we are right in our conclusion, then the savings which result from paying London weighting at current levels are achieved by requiring London workers to work for lower real pay than their counterparts elsewhere.

Public service union Unison is calling for a flat-rate £4,000 top-up and its members are striking over London weighting on 17 July for the fourth time since May.

The review also found that workers in outer London should be getting between 11% and 15% more than other public sector workers.

Unison is leading strikes over weighting

It recommended that calculations should be reviewed annually and compared with those of the private sector.

Unison coordinator Geoff Martin said: "This is a heavyweight report commissioned by London's regional government that is calling for an increase.

"It would be complete madness for the government to ignore it because, if things continue as at present, not only will it become impossible to staff public sector services but also some private sector ones."

The Association of London Government welcomed the recommendation that employers needed flexibility to tackle recruitment at a local level.

It also said an important distinction had been made between inner and outer London pay.

A spokeswoman said: "Staffing difficulties vary from service to service and borough to borough.

"Therefore a uniform London weighting payment is not the most effective way to tackle recruitment and retention issues."