Blue-chips face best-practice anger

THE Association of British Insurers today warned that some of Britain's leading companies could face shareholder revolts over their failure to meet social and environmental best practice.

Launching a report on corporate responsibility, the ABI said institutional investors are looking at incorporating ethical issues into their policy for voting at annual general meetings. It added that a fifth of FTSE 100 companies were still failing to disclose their commitment to best practice in the social and environmental arena.

Henderson Global Investors has already vowed to talk to a range of blue-chip companies about poor levels of disclosure. Today's warning comes a day after Martin Broughton, chairman of cigarettes giant BAT, called Christian Aid 'pathetic' for attacking working practices on tobacco farms supplying the group.

Peter Montagnon, the ABI's head of investment affairs, denied the trade bodies' report gave environmental groups the green light to intensify their attacks on the corporate sector.