JW3 and the London Jewish Cultural Centre have denied that the merger between the two organisations is on the brink of collapse.

The JC reported this week that the plan was foundering because of a failure to agree the financial arrangements underpinning the proposed new body.

But in a joint statement issued on Thursday, JW3 chair Michael Goldstein and LJCC chair Michael Marx insisted the organisations remained committed to the merger.

They said: “Regular discussions are continuing between the two boards regarding all details of the merger. Once those negotiations have been concluded all relevant parties and the press will be notified. In the meantime we will not be providing a running commentary on the progress.

“However, we would like to make it clear that the suggestions made in this morning’s article on thejc.com website that the ‘merger talks are on the verge of collapse’ and that the decision had been made to ‘cancel the merger’ are completely untrue.”