Lord Myners, the Minister for the City of London, said at the National Association of Pension Funds investment conference in Edinburgh this month that he would push for stringent measures to force institutional investors to take more seriously their responsibilities as shareholders. He said there could be “penalties for failure” if investors did not engage appropriately with companies.

Myners said he would encourage Sir David Walker, who is conducting an independent review into the banking system on behalf of the Government, to consider whether professional investors should be legally required "to seek to enhance the quality of investment and governance to promote value creation". The UK Treasury declined to comment.