Equitable Life customers hailed the publication of the parliamentary ombudsman's report as a red letter day, claiming it was a "devastating indictment of the actions of the UK regulators over an entire decade".

Paul Braithwaite, of the Equitable Members Action Group, said: "The UK regulators were fully aware for a decade that Equitable Life was effectively insolvent, yet they allowed the company to grow six-fold and suck in another £20bn in pension contributions from more than a million new investors, after it was holed below the waterline."