Sir Paul Tucker, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has backed calls for a break up of the 'Big Four', saying there are “significant problems” with how the UK’s largest accountancy firms make their money.

The former central banker, who is now chair of advocacy group the Systemic Risk Council, said he believes there are “deep rooted” issues with the how the Big Four operate, suggesting inherent conflicts of interest have led to cases of poor audit quality.