The Conservatives will today call for a cross-party consensus to compensate Equitable Life policyholders for their losses.

Oliver Letwin said that the case for compensation would depend on the findings of Lord Penrose, whose report into the near collapse of Equitable Life will be published today.

The shadow chancellor said: "This has, of course, been a disaster for Equitable policyholders. The question, which we hope Lord Penrose will have answered, is whether regulatory negligence or inappropriate regulatory intervention caused part of the disaster.

"If so, we shall be asking ministers to co-operate in an effort to find a long-lasting cross-party consensus about the appropriate way of compensating Equitable policyholders over the coming years."

The report from Lord Penrose is expected to criticise the Department of Trade and Industry and the Treasury, which were responsible for supervising the mutual society in the 1980s and 1990s.