Union leaders called for an overhaul of bank executives' pay after research show their rewards contributed to the near-collapse of the banking system.

Unite said the basic pay and cash bonuses of just five chief executives at HBOS, Lloyds TSB, RBS, Barclays and HSBC totalled more than £52m.

The findings came as it published a dossier drawn from annual reports between 2003 and 2007.