Lord Hill, a Conservative peer, was named commissioner for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union in September 2014 and has been overseeing the implementation of the new supervisory and resolution rules for banks, and work on the proposed capital markets union.

In a resignation statement, Hill said he was ‘obviously very disappointed about the result’ and added ‘what is done cannot be undone’.

‘As we move to a new phase, I don't believe it is right that I should carry on as the British Commissioner as though nothing had happened,’ Hill said.

Hill said his statement ‘there needs to be an orderly handover’, so he will carry on at work until mid-July, but will be replaced by Latvian politician Valdis Dombrovskis, currently European commissioner for the euro.

In an article for the Guardian newspaper, written on the eve of the UK referendum, Hill wrote: ‘There is no alternative for UK financial services that is as good as its current membership of the single market. And there would be no quick, simple, painless deal on offer from the rest of Europe after we left. On the contrary, it would be slow, complicated and painful. Why, after having rejected pleas to remain, should we expect anything else?’

The EU president Jean-Claude Juncker said: ‘It is with great regret that I have accepted Lord Hill's decision to resign from the European Commission. Lord Hill is an experienced politician for whom I have great respect and I want to sincerely thank him for his loyal and professional work as a member of my team.

‘At the beginning of this Commission's mandate, I wanted the British Commissioner to be in charge of financial services, as a sign of my confidence in the UK’s membership of the EU. To my great regret, this situation is now changing. I have tried to convince Lord Hill to stay on as commissioner. I consider him to be a true European and not just the British commissioner. However, I understand his decision and I respect it.’