The high street banks face an inquiry by an influential Commons committee, following cross-party calls on Thursday for retribution against the “irresponsible” bank bosses seeking multi-billion taxpayer capital bailouts.

The Treasury select committee is set to hold an inquiry into the terms of the £400bn($681bn) rescue package, which the MPs concerned said would cover bankers’ remuneration, as well as the risks to the taxpayer. “Bonuses are bound to come up – we’ll inevitably look at them, and we should be doing so,” a Tory MP on the committee told the Financial Times.

The public finances watchdog is also poised to launch an investigation into the £400bn government bail-out. The National Audit Office said it was waiting to see the details of the taxpayer-funded recapitalisations “before deciding what direction any audit investigation might take”.

The main party leaders suggested on Thursday the banks would have to pay a heavy price if they want to gain such state-funded capital injections, and get access to the £250bn of government-backed loan guarantees.

Gordon Brown led the political charge against the bankers, warning that the “excessive and irresponsible” risk-taking had “got to be punished”. The “days of big bonuses are over,” the prime minister told GMTV. Opposition parties joined the fray. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said: “If the banks are going to take taxpayers’ money they cannot pay the senior executives, the people directing the bank, bonuses this year. That would be outrageous.”

The populist approach appears to be on the agenda set by Mr Brown for the next round of negotiations with individual banks.

Those talks are being led by Paul Myners, the newly appointed City minister, with support from John Kingman, the Treasury official who oversaw the Northern Rock nationalisation, and Tom Scholar, the Treasury’s financial services director, who was blooded in the Bradford & Bingley nationalisation. Baroness Shriti Vadera, a key City adviser to Gordon Brown, is expected to be involved, but not in detailed talks.

Alistair Darling, chancellor, also expects Lord Turner, Financial Services Authority chairman, to be central to the recapitalisation plan.

“The FSA knows these companies well and can make the judgments on capital ratios and what is appropriate in each case,” a Treasury official said.

Aides to the chancellor urged caution about the extent to which the negotiations could be used to force the banks’ hands over levels of remuneration or boardroom sackings.

Mr Darling would much prefer shareholders to take the lead and has publicly insisted he would not intervene to force the removal of management. Treasury officials on Thursday denied suggestions that Mr Myners was urging shareholders to claim some executives’ scalps.

The Treasury also stressed the negotiations would not dictate the level of executives’ remuneration, instead focusing on structures that do not reward short-term risks. Ministers will hope the supplicant bank directors voluntarily forgo bonuses, rather than risk a potential clash between political rhetoric and what the government – as a non-controlling shareholder – can realistically demand.