And finally…‘Bin £50 note to fight terror’

According to a study by the Harvard Kennedy School, which also singled-out €500 notes and $100 bills, said high-value notes are the payment method of choice for the criminal underworld.

Any such move would be a big step forward in disrupting the “business models” of the “bad guys”, the research said, because it would prevent criminals hiding behind the “lack of transaction record” that comes with trading in high-denomination notes.

The study estimates global crime flows total two trillion US dollars per year, while corruption adds up to one trillion US dollars.

Former Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands, who headed-up the study, said eliminating high-value notes would “make life harder for those pursuing tax evasion, financial crime, terrorist finance and corruption”.

He added: “Without being able to use high denomination notes, those engaged in illicit activities … would face higher costs and greater risk.”

The report states tax evasion robs countries of between six per cent and 70 per cent of what tax authorities should be collecting.

But despite heavy investment in systems and intelligence gathering to crackdown on the flow of illegal funds, only one per cent of it is seized, the Making it Harder for the Bad Guys report found.

However Mr Sands said that this move should not lead to the stopping of cash payments altogether.

He added: “Despite the rapid growth and development of electronic payment mechanisms, cash stills plays a vital role in the functioning of the economy.

“In every country cash is still the predominant method of making small payments.”

De la Rue sealed a 10-year deal with the Bank of England in October 2014 to print plastic banknotes.