Business Secretary Vince Cable has said that he wants to tighten the rules on takeovers of UK firms by foreign investors. This would include potentially fining firms that double-back on promises made during the deal.

Mr Cable said that his reforms would leave companies no “wiggle room” following the failed takeover of British-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca by its US rival Pfizer.

Mr Cable said that the government "had got some very good assurances from Pfizer" at the time regarding the safeguarding of British jobs, but many critics questioned was whether it would hold to its pledges.

He said that to ensure in future that such assurances would be binding, "we may well get into the area of having financial penalties" as a means of ensuring that companies stood by their takeover promises.