THE Court of Appeal decision to back the government’s right to circumscribe pensions schemes from bearing in mind ethical considerations over where to invest funds is galling but not unexpected.

It reflects advice given over four decades ago when some pension fund trustees sought to avoid investing in companies involved with apartheid South Africa and were told they were bound to maximise fund income in the interests of members.

This was dictated by the fact that British governments, both Tory and Labour, opposed solidarity activists’ efforts to isolate the apartheid state.