Lord Myners: overhaul role of pay advisers Investors have complained to several chairman about the quality of advice being given to remuneration committees and have demanded action. Lord Myners, the former City minister, and Simon Walker, the director general of the Institute of Directors, have both called for an overhaul of the role of compensation advisers, who have been accused of fuelling the "arms race" in pay. "Too often the consultants appear to be giving advice that benefits directors not the company or shareholders," said one investor. Boards have to take responsibility for the pay decisions they make, but also for the type of advice they are getting. Chairmen need to be vigilant and replace those that are not giving appropriate advice. Shareholders have criticised Cookson Group, the London-listed industrial ceramics group, for accepting the advice of Kepler Associates and Hewitt New Bridge Street. The calculation, which was established after a deeply discounted rights issue, triggered a £20m windfall for directors. In response to complaints, the chairman of Cookson, Jeff Harris, wrote to investors explaining that the company "took and followed appropriate professional advice." He added: "The methodology chosen was a reasonable one in the circumstances and was consistent with that adopted by other companies that had undertaken deeply discounted rights around the same time." However, one investor said: "The pay scheme was not standard at all and should have been flagged as irregular." Hewitt New Bridge Street said it had not advised Cookson's remuneration committee on the controversial policy. Kepler Associates did not return calls for comment. Last month Barclays replaced its remuneration consultants, Towers Watson, in the wake of the latest furore over chief executive Bob Diamond's pay packet.