Paul Myners, chairman of Guardian Media Group and Land Securities, has hit out at “the open-toed sandal brigade”, his description for corporate governance experts, because of their obsession with pay and board structure.

In a View from the Top interview published on FT.com on Wednesday, Mr Myners – who has also chaired Marks and Spencer and Gartmore – accused sticklers for corporate governance of losing sight of the economic value a company might create and called for breathing space from a series of reviews of UK corporate governance standards.