Increased automation could lead to weaker wage growth and a smaller share of national income going to workers, the Bank of England’s chief economist has warned.

Andy Haldane, who sits on the Monetary Policy Committee, said that the UK had until now been relatively slow to adopt automation compared to other countries. "Were the UK to catch up, this could have significant implications for wage growth," he said.

Mr Haldane estimated that increased use of robots could knock up to one percentage point off rises in pay.

“Increased automation and the dawn of a Fourth Industrial Revolution could, then, result in slower pay growth and workers receiving a smaller slice of the income pie."

Mr Haldane pointed to research from the International Monetary Fund, which had "found a significant negative effect of automation on labour’s share”.

Speaking at a conference run by dispute-resolution body Acas on Wednesday, Mr Haldane noted that surveys had found that the UK has 71 robots per 10,000 employees, far less than 127 in France or 170 in the US.

The UK compares even worse to Germany, where there are 301 robots per 10,000 - more than four times the rate in the UK.