A report into the collapse of Lehman Brothers criticises senior executives and auditor Ernst & Young for serious lapses that led to the firm's collapse.

According to the report by the US Court appointed examiner Anton Valukas, Lehman's used an accounting mechanism called Repo-105 to keep $50bn off its balance sheet in order to make the bank appear healthier and maintain a favourable credit rating.

Timothy Canova, a professor of international economic law at Chapman University's School of Law in Orange County explained the Repo-105 mechanism to the Today programme.

The professor told Today's Nick Cosgrove that he expected to see some "significant civil claims" as a result of this report.