Nasdaq yesterday insisted its £12.43-a-share offer for the London Stock Exchange was "full and fair" and tore into the London market's growth forecasts as the rhetoric from both sides in the bid battle took an increasingly hostile turn.

But the LSE said its board would continue to defend investor interests and would await an offer from the US exchange it could recommend to share-holders. Chris Gibson-Smith, chairman, said it was time for Nasdaq "to put up or shut up".