A BID by Tunbridge Wells Conservative MP Archie Norman to stop company directors being given golden handshakes when they fail has been rejected by Parliament.

Mr Norman, millionaire former boss of the Asda supermarket group, presented a Bill to the House of Commons seeking to end "payments for failure".

But he claimed the Government deliberately used "an obscure and arcane procedure" to prevent any debate taking place, so that the Bill was lost.

Mr Norman believes many people are outraged when companies fail, hitting jobs and investments, only to then see directors walking away with lucrative pay-offs.

He said: "The Government's tactics show how embarrassed it is about its own failure to act. Now it has torpedoed the legislation that was on the table, the onus is on the Government to produce proposals that will solve this problem."

Mr Norman added that, despite his disappointment at his Bill being quashed, he was pleased it had forced the Government to wake up to the situation.

He said Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, was now committed to launching a formal consultation about payments for failure.