Protesters threw an object that appeared to be cake at Volkswagen chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday 10 May.

Mr Poetsch managed to duck in time to avoid being hit before a number of activists, including one topless woman with “Dirty Money” painted on her back were removed from the room.

The group also interrupted chief executive Oliver Blume’s speech, shouting that the carmaker’s vehicles were built with forced labour.

The activists were protesting Volkswagen’s controversial plant in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, reflecting similar investor concerns over claims of human rights abuses.