Airbus has set up a heavyweight panel of compliance to examine its business practices as the pan-European plane-maker comes under scrutiny from British and French anti-corruption and fraud investigators.

The new Independent Compliance Review Panel includes Lord Gold, the Conservative peer and City lawyer who was appointed by Rolls-Royce to lead a wide-ranging review of the engine maker's anti-corruption policies after it was embroiled in allegations of bribery to secure deals.

In January Rolls agreed to pay a record £671m settlement after an investigation led by the Serious Fraud Office, which uncovered what the judge who oversaw the case described as “egregious criminality over decades” with the company “making truly vast corrupt payments”.

Airbus's move to set up the panel is an attempt to show regulators it has its house in order ahead of a future settlement.

Last year the plane-maker self-reported to regulators over what chief executive Tom Enders called “mis-statements and omissions” it had uncovered.

These are thought to relate to Airbus using “middlemen” to negotiate deals in some countries, with fears bribes could have been paid, potentially meaning the company would not be able to win government financing support to help seal deals with foreign buyers.