The Church of England's national investing bodies, which between them manage more than £11bn, have pledged to tighten up their stewardship of mining companies, with divestment an appropriate last resort if they feel insufficient progress has been made.

The new policy launched today applies to the Church Commissioners, Church of England Pensions Board and CBF Church of England Funds. It comes amid pressure on large investors to exercise their shareholder power to push for governance change at the companies in which they invest.