The balance of power in UK boardrooms has again been called into question after institutional investor pressure forced Sir Ian Prosser to withdraw his name as chairman designate of J Sainsbury, the UK supermarket chain.

Prosser, former chief executive of Bass, the brewer, and chairman of InterContinental Hotels, was named as Sainsbury's deputy chairman on February 10, but was forced to withdraw his name just one week later in the face of sustained shareholder criticism.