Anthony Hilton: Make directors prove they are worth it

The highlight of the week for me was seeing Sir Adrian Cadbury come out of retirement to speak on Tuesday at an event hosted by the Stock Exchange to mark the 20th anniversary of the Cadbury Code. Produced by a committee chaired by Sir Adrian, it is now recognised as the founding pillar of today's corporate governance.

His mind remains as acute as ever. Asked how to improve the standard of public companies' boards, he suggested that at the annual meeting before they were elected they should have to produce a 500-word statement to shareholders explaining how their election would add value to the company.