A merger had appeared likely prior to the election, and the Conservative party included the body’s closure in its manifesto, stating that a merger with the NCA would ‘improve intelligence sharing and bolster the investigation of serious fraud, money laundering and financial crime.’

It added the move would ‘strengthen Britain's response to white collar crime’.

The NCA’s remit runs from tackling organised crime to child protection.

The plans were met with ardent criticism, with many in the tax profession suggesting there was no sound basis for the proposals.

Prime Minister Theresa May made attempts to shutter the SFO during her time as home secretary, although those efforts were foiled by her cabinet colleagues.

In March 2017, the SFO fined Tesco £129m over its 2014 accounting misstatement in a deferred prosecution agreement. This week, it emerged the SFO has charged Barclays and four former executives over capital-raising arrangements with Qatar during the financial crisis.

Barry Vitou, partner and head of global corporate crime at Pinsent Masons, said: ‘Leading judicial figures, the Attorney General, and some MPs have all come out in support of the SFO over the last few days. Diluting the concentration of expertise at the SFO just didn’t make sense.

‘It is so important to keep a level playing field in the fight against fraud and the rationale for having the SFO is as good now as when it was founded in 1987. Considering the complexity of the task the SFO faces and its routine under-resourcing, it is doing a good job.’