Corporate transactions that threaten pension scheme members should be blocked, according to the outgoing head of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

Lady Barbara Judge, who left the regulator at the end of June, said the PPF should have the powers similar to the competition authorities to block acquisitions.

Her comments come after the collapse of BHS following its sale by Sir Philip Green to Dominic Chappell in 2015. BHS’s pension fund has an estimated £570m deficit and 20,000 members.

Lady Judge is quoted in the FT as saying: “The regulator should have the right to approve or disapprove any corporate transaction that disadvantage pensioners.”