Britain introduced new rules yesterday to crack down on funds used to finance organised crime and terrorism, requiring businesses such as banks, estate agents, accountants and payment firms to carry out more checks on money flows.

The government said that while the majority of businesses were vigilant, the new rules would improve the quality of the checks to make sure that businesses can spot suspicious activity and report it.

“Terrorist financing and money laundering are significant threat to our national security, and we are determined to make the UK a hostile environment for illicit finance,” Stephen Barclay, economic secretary to the Treasury, said in a statement.

“These new rules will tighten our defences, protect the integrity of our financial system and help protect the British public from terror attacks and criminal activities.”

Britain has suffered a series of attacks in recent months, with 35 people killed by Islamists in London and Manchester, while a man killed one and injured several others when he drove a van into Muslim worshippers leaving a London mosque.