The completion of the Pears Building at the Royal Free has been delayed due to "some construction issues and restrictions imposed by the pandemic".

The new building is being built as a collaboration between the hospital trust, the charity and University College London (UCL).

The building - which is to be a new home for the UCL Institute of Immunity and Transplantation - was supposed to have been completed in November, but now bosses expect the project to be finished "by the end of March".

A Royal Free Charity spokesperson told this newspaper: "When the previous estimate of completing the building by Christmas was made, a second lockdown was not anticipated. This affected not only the schedule for completing the construction but also the commissioning of equipment and processes that will operate in laboratories, offices and patient areas."

The spokesperson added: "We are very grateful to local residents for their forbearance during the construction period."