Cherie Booth QC has been hired by North Yorkshire and Merseyside council pension funds to act as special advisor in their application for lead plaintiff in a class action against RBS in the US courts.

Law firm Coughlin Stoia, who recovered more than $7.2bn for investors in a case within the Enron scandal, aim to lead the proceedings, and hope to recover losses on investments in RBS as well as major reforms in executive remuneration, and will pursue improvements in corporate governance.

One of the lead attorneys on the case, Patrick Daniels, who is also founding partners of the Coughlin Firm, said: "The filing of the applications for the appointment of lead plaintiffs is the first step towards achieving justice for those hundreds of thousands of investors who have suffered huge financial losses as a result of this bank's massive failure of risk management at every level. We are proud to have formed a team comprising the best legal minds to represent our clients and we will be pursuing this claim relentlessly in order to bring the executives, especially Sir Fred Goodwin, and this bank to book."

Booth added: "This is a significant case not only for the massive losses inflicted on local authority pension schemes and other UK institutions who were the largest investors in RBS, but also for the potential to protect investors in the future by significantly raising the standards for good governance in major UK companies. We will be working very closely with the Coughlin Firm to ensure that UK investors' claims are included in the US class action."

She also said that pension funds rely on "vigorous, transparent and honest markets to meet their obligations".

Dutch metal workers fund, PME, is also on board.

Meanwhile, it has also emerged that former chief executive at RBS, Sir Fred Goodwin, has already taken a £3million lump sum advance on his £703,000 pension.

Lord Paul Myners, who has so far been implicated in the story, made it clear that he "did not negotiate, settle, or approve" Sir Fred's pension.

- Pensions Age March 2009

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