The UK remains a "deeply elitist" society with best-paid and powerful roles still dominated by individuals who have come from affluent backgrounds, benefited from a private education and studied at Oxbridge.

This is according to a major new report from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, which found that the most influential roles in the country are still confined to a narrow group that is not representative of the country.

The damning and comprehensive study, which analysed the backgrounds of more than 4,000 political, business, media and public sector leaders, went so far as to say that elitism is so predominant that it "could be called social engineering".

Some of the startling findings outlined in the 76-page report included data on how many prominent positions were occupied by people from fee-paying schools. For senior judges it was 71 per cent, for senior armed forces officers it was 62 per cent and for permanent secretaries it was 55 per cent.

Alan Milburn, chair of the commission, said: "This research highlights a dramatic over-representation of those educated at independent schools and Oxbridge across the institutions that have such a profound influence on what happens in our country."

The report was severe in its reprimand of the current status quo, stating that high-ranking individuals and the spheres within which they operate are still largely "formed on the playing fields of independent schools" and "finished in Oxbridge’s dreaming spires".

"Locking out a diversity of talents and experiences makes Britain's leading institutions less informed, less representative and ultimately less credible than they should be," Mr Milburn outlined in his foreword.

"This risks narrowing the conduct of public life to a small few who are very familiar with each other but far less familiar with the day-to-day challenges facing ordinary people in the country."

Mr Milburn added that, as the commission's document discloses, it is all too easy for politicians to receive guidance from advisors, civil servants to have power to devise policies and journalists the privilege of shaping the narrative of the world "having all studied the same courses at the same universities, having read the same books, heard the same lectures and even being taught by the same tutors".

The report outlined a number of recommendations for tackling an historic problem. Despite many efforts over the years, many pledges for reform and promoting an equal society, the UK has consistently failed to narrow "social prejudice".

This needs to be undertaken by all stakeholders, including parents, schools, universities, employers and the government. Some suggestions include encouraging employers to publish data on the social background of its staff and getting schools to focus more on reducing the attainment gap between disadvantaged and comparatively privileged pupils.

"These stark findings build on Sutton Trust studies to show that Britain's top professions remain the preserve of the privileged few," commented Lee Elliot Major, director of policy and development at the thinktank.

"We welcome the commission's recommendations, many of which we are addressing through our programmes that focus on increasing access to top universities and professions including law, banking and medicine."

Despite all major political parties being part of the problem in failing to resolve elitism in the UK, shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt took the opportunity to launch an attack on the current coalition government.

He said that its policy, at present, is "at odds with the commission's prescriptions" and that there is an explicit need to boost the role that schools have in ensuring children from disadvantaged backgrounds receive a quality education and, in later life, are able to secure high-profile jobs.

"That vision is at the heart of Labour's schools policy," he said. "By contrast, Cameron's schools policy has done away with work experience and face-to-face careers advice - so important for young people - whilst ignoring the important role of children's character development in schools."