Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is moving to draw a line under its controversial role on the bid for Marks & Spencer (M&S) after the Court of Appeal last week refused to lift an injunction barring the firm from acting on the £9bn bid.

The judges, Lord Justice Kay and Lord Justice Pill, ruled on 3 June that the effective use of Chinese walls in a non-agreed takeover was “wholly improbable”.