MPs are to vote on a Private Members' Bill urging more rights for workers when firms are bought out by private equity companies.

Unite, which staged a protest outside the Houses of Commons yesterday, are campaigning for more job security for workers caught up in takeovers.

The union cited examples such as Gate Gourmet, the airline catering company, which was bought out by Texas Pacific, which they said reneged on collective bargaining agreements and sacked 800 staff.

However, the CBI is urging politicians to vote against John Heppell’s, MP for Nottingham East’s, bill, defending the record of private equity firms in the UK and warning that the bill would create "significant uncertainty" for employers.