As the shadow of hedge fund millionaire Crispin Odey hangs over the City, UK financial regulators face an uphill battle to crack down on sexual harassment and bullying in finance, according to top lawyers and compliance experts.

The Financial Conduct Authority has pushed so-called non-financial misconduct up its priority list in recent years, with at least four open investigations as at April, data exclusively obtained by Financial News shows, and has pledged to treat it on a par with breaches like insider trading and money laundering.