Senior figures in the legal profession have called for lower taxes and a less bureaucratic regulatory regime to protect the UK’s £167bn professional services industry from growing threats posed by emerging economies.

The call is contained in a report published this week by the Professional and Business Services Group (PBSG), a body established in March 2010 whose membership includes the senior partners of Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Robert Elliott (pictured) and Will Lawes.