Claims that UK lawyers are regularly agreeing ‘sweetheart’ deals with banks to secure higher fees from unsuspecting corporate clients have been met with a wall of silence from nine of London’s top 10 law firms.

Only the famously independent magic circle firm Slaughter and May would confirm that it does not charge higher rates when banks are passing bills to the banks’ corporate clients on deals, as opposed to the own-account work paid for by the financial institutions.