The government has delayed a bill to impose financial transparency on Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man by three years, sparking an immediate backlash by MPs in parliament.

The anti-corruption measure would have forced business owners with a stake of more than 25 percent in a Channel Islands company to be publicly registered.

There was an immediate backlash from MPs. A cross-party group, led by Tory Andrew Mitchell and Labour’s Margaret Hodge has been threatening to force the Crown Dependencies to abandon secret ownership of companies registered there.

Ministers suddenly pulled the Financial Services Bill...