Dame Helena Morrissey, the celebrated activist for equality in the workplace, has revealed that she struggled with anorexia as a teenager and suffered two miscarriages in later life, one of which took place in the office.

In her new book, A good time to be a girl, the mother-of-nine and head of personal investing at Legal & General Investment Management, disclosed how she battled with an eating disorder while at secondary school and wrestled with depression as a result of her pregnancy loss.