A number of major shareholder at staffing agency Healthcare Locums (HCL) have drawn up the paperwork required to request an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to vote HCL Chairman Alan Walker of the board unless he resigns prior to the meeting, The Guardian newspaper reports.

The move follows last month's dramatic decision by Alan Walker to suspend Kate Bleasdale as Executive Vice-Chairman and Diane Jarvis as Chief Financial Officer after the discovery of 'serious accounting irregularities'.

The rebels are concerned about Walker's apparent plans to install himself as Chief Executive and are calling for Andy McRae, currently Head of Healthcare Locum's new Australian subsidiary, to be installed instead.

The shareholders are also proposing to replace Alan Walker as Non-Executive Chairman with Michael Sinclair, whose Sinclair Montrose family investment fund has links to previous businesses run by Kate Bleasdale.

The gravity of the accounting irregularities is as yet unclear but rebel shareholders are said to believe that as a former Chartered Accountant at professional services firm KPMG and Chairman of HCL's Audit Committee, Alan Walker was in part responsible for ensuring that the company's accounts were kept in good order.

One large investor, who declined to be named, commented to The Guardian "why would anyone vote for Alan? His self-granted promotion [to Acting Chief Executive] is not in the best interest of the company."

Kate Bleasdale remains an influential investor, controlling a 12% stake in HCL.

The announcement of an EGM could come as early as today.