Topshop boss Sir Philip Green gives £100,000 to help London's Dispossessed

The Topshop, Topman and Bhs owner personally gave £100,000 to the Fund and acknowledged it was sometimes hard to appreciate just "how bad" life can be on the bottom rung.

Sir Philip, 58, has deep London roots — his father was from the East End and he was brought up in Croydon and Hampstead Garden Suburb.

He said: "I must have 4,000 to 5,000 people employed in London. It's one of the most important centres in the world. If we can all put our elbows to the pump we can help everybody — we can give them the same chances that others have received — and that can only be to London's gain.

"We've got to start somewhere. The Evening Standard has done a great job in highlighting some of the situations that exist for some people — probably we don't know how bad it really is for them. By putting up this money we're making a start."

The Fund is now well on the way to hitting its target of £1 million — which will be matched by the Government.

Other business leaders have backed our campaign, with British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh saying: "Poverty shames us all and as a global airline we have a responsibility and a duty to tackle deprivation in countries we fly to around the world.

"But we must never forget charity begins at home, so I am determined we should make our contribution and support the Evening Standard campaign."

Click here to donate to the Dispossessed Fund