Parliamentary ombudsman Ann Abraham has attacked proposals outlined in the Chadwick report on Equitable Life.

In a letter to MPs, Abraham said the proposals set out in the report seemed to be an “unsafe and unsound basis” for the government to proceed.

She said, ‘It seems to me that those proposals, if acted upon, would not in any sense enable fair and transparent compensation to be delivered.’

The ombudsman said she had called for fair compensation for any relative losses suffered by policyholders or annuitants,in her report, to be delivered as soon as possible, with recourse to the impact on the public purse.

Chadwick’s proposals, however, called for an ex gratia payment only to those who had been ‘disproportionately affected’.

In the letter, she said the report had misinterpreted central parts of conclusions set out in her 2008 report and had ignored other parts.

Abraham added, ‘I find these flaws particularly concerning, providing as they do the basis for some of the central and more controversial proposals within the Chadwick report.'

The ombudsman said the Chadwick report had factored in the previous government's rejection of her original proposals, failing to take into account the coalition government's pledge to compensate policyholders.

‘It is not for me to become engaged with future discussions surrounding the policy now to be adopted.

‘However, as ever, I remain ready to assist Parliament in its deliberations on these matters.’