PM May Holds Talks With 'FTSE Fraud Squad'

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) swept into Downing Street with a pledge to curb corporate misbehaviour.

So it was fitting that Theresa May's first significant business engagement as Prime Minister saw her meeting the bosses of four companies which are all the subject of inquiries by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

Sky News has learnt that the Prime Minister hosted a dinner last week with the chief executives of Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , GlaxoSmithKline (Amsterdam: GO8.AS - news) (GSK), Rolls Royce (LSE: RR.L - news) and Tesco - each of which is under investigation for various episodes of alleged misconduct.

The common thread of the SFO investigations was a coincidence rather than on the agenda of the gathering, according to insiders.

The odd one out at last Tuesday's dinner, they added, was David Thomas, the chief executive of Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV.L - news) , the housebuilder, which is not being probed by the SFO.

Sources said on Sunday that Mrs May had used the event - her first significant engagement with captains of industry since becoming PM - to hint at areas of corporate governance reform that she intends to pursue.

She said shortly before becoming the Conservative Party leader that she intended to manage the economy in the interests of "the many, not the privileged few", adding that she wanted a sweeping overhaul of corporate governance practices and a new public interest test for foreign takeovers of British companies.

Last week, she moved to block the immediate approval of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset, partly because of her desire for more time to consider the involvement of a state-owned Chinese company in the project.

At her dinner with bosses last week, Mrs May was "in listening mode", asking them for their views on Britain's economy in the wake of the referendum result.

Among the other attendees, whose spouses were also invited, were Jes Staley, the Barclays chief executive; Sir Andrew Witty of GSK; Warren East, boss of Rolls Royce; and the Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) chief executive Dave Lewis.

Barclays is being probed by the SFO over payments made to Qatar during the 2008 financial crisis, while GSK has been the subject of an inquiry by the agency into commercial practices for more than two years.

The SFO is also investigating Tesco over supplier payments, and Rolls Royce over alleged corruption at overseas operations.

Downing Street officials have yet to inform the members of David Cameron's Business Advisory Group whether Mrs May intends to retain them during her tenure as PM.

She plans to appoint an experienced figure to occupy a new role leading liaison with businesses from within Ten Downing Street in the coming weeks.

Mrs May has also shaken up the Whitehall machinery responsible for business, creating a new department which also oversees energy and industrial strategy.