The closure of Neil Woodford’s flagship Equity Income fund puts heavy pressure on the independent directors of the asset manager's other main fund, the Patient Capital Trust, to remove him, according to industry commentators.

Shares in the Woodford Patient Capital Trust slumped to a new low on October 15 as news of the closure of Woodford’s principal fund reverberated through the market. The fund was down 10.6% to 33.63p a share as of 11:30am BST — bringing its total share-price losses since the crisis began in June to 56%.