When the great train robbers stole £2.5 million from Royal Mail, they were sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison. When our bankers get caught fraudulently taking billions of pounds from poor people throughout the world, they just pay large corporate fines and walk away with fat pensions. How can we ever be in anything together as long as we tolerate powerful villains who are too privileged to be put behind bars?

When the great train robbers stole £2.5 million from Royal Mail, they were sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison. When our bankers get caught fraudulently taking billions of pounds from poor people throughout the world, they just pay large corporate fines and walk away with fat pensions. How can we ever be in anything together as long as we tolerate powerful villains who are too privileged to be put behind bars?

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and that is why the Wheatley review into the LIBOR scandal recommends a series of changes, including criminal sanctions. I think that when people have broken the law they should face the full force of the criminal law. What punishment we should design for the people who sold our gold at half price, on the other hand, is another matter altogether.

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and that is why the Wheatley review into the LIBOR scandal recommends a series of changes, including criminal sanctions. I think that when people have broken the law they should face the full force of the criminal law. What punishment we should design for the people who sold our gold at half price, on the other hand, is another matter altogether.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which institutions benefited, and by what amounts, from early stage discounts under the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) executive settlement procedures as a result of the FSA investigation into misconduct of rate-setting for the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR).[HL3838]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which institutions benefited, and by what amounts, from early stage discounts under the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) executive settlement procedures as a result of the FSA investigation into misconduct of rate-setting for the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR).[HL3838]

To ask the Attorney-General how much additional funding the Serious Fraud Office has received to carry out its investigation into the manipulation of LIBOR rates.

[133385]

To ask the Attorney-General how much additional funding the Serious Fraud Office has received to carry out its investigation into the manipulation of LIBOR rates.

[133385]

I come now to the Government’s implementation of the independent review of LIBOR conducted by Mr Martin Wheatley. I announced the Government’s response to the Wheatley review in mid-October and three sets of amendments to the Bill have been made to implement those recommendations that require legislation. The first is...

I come now to the Government’s implementation of the independent review of LIBOR conducted by Mr Martin Wheatley. I announced the Government’s response to the Wheatley review in mid-October and three sets of amendments to the Bill have been made to implement those recommendations that require legislation. The first is...

We have moved on to another series of amendments that have arisen largely as a result of the scandal that was discovered this summer, when it was found that some of the largest banks—obviously, we have heard about the concerns in relation to Barclays—had been manipulating LIBOR, the benchmark from...

We have moved on to another series of amendments that have arisen largely as a result of the scandal that was discovered this summer, when it was found that some of the largest banks—obviously, we have heard about the concerns in relation to Barclays—had been manipulating LIBOR, the benchmark from...

My Lords, I feel that I should warn you that my remarks on this group will be longer and more detailed than usual, because this group of amendments relates to Martin Wheatley’s review of LIBOR. This is a new area for this House’s consideration in the context of the Bill,...

My Lords, I feel that I should warn you that my remarks on this group will be longer and more detailed than usual, because this group of amendments relates to Martin Wheatley’s review of LIBOR. This is a new area for this House’s consideration in the context of the Bill,...

My Lords, we on this side of the House broadly support the conclusions of the Wheatley report and commend Mr Wheatley and his team for the prompt delivery of such a comprehensive document. I say “broadly” because there are a number of details that we believe are not quite right...

My Lords, we on this side of the House broadly support the conclusions of the Wheatley report and commend Mr Wheatley and his team for the prompt delivery of such a comprehensive document. I say “broadly” because there are a number of details that we believe are not quite right...

My Lords, there can be little doubt that an enforceable code of conduct is sorely needed in this industry. Many banks publish so-called codes of conduct that read impressively. The Barclays code of conduct says:

“We … expect every Barclays employee, and others who work on our behalf, to conduct themselves...

My Lords, there can be little doubt that an enforceable code of conduct is sorely needed in this industry. Many banks publish so-called codes of conduct that read impressively. The Barclays code of conduct says:

“We … expect every Barclays employee, and others who work on our behalf, to conduct themselves...

Financial Services Bill. Lords motion that Standing Order 30 (No Lord to speak more than once to a Motion) be dispensed with during the Report stage of the Financial Services Bill so far as is necessary to enable debates on amendments Nos 70 and 80 (concerned with LIBOR) to be conducted as if the House were in Committee. Agreed to on question (formal).

Financial Services Bill. Lords motion that Standing Order 30 (No Lord to speak more than once to a Motion) be dispensed with during the Report stage of the Financial Services Bill so far as is necessary to enable debates on amendments Nos 70 and 80 (concerned with LIBOR) to be...

Financial Services Bill: amendments to be moved on report. 10 p.

Financial Services Bill: amendments to be moved on report. 10 p.

At the end of June it was revealed that LIBOR—the London interbank offered rate, the benchmark used in trillions of pounds worth of financial contracts—had been subject to repeated attempts at manipulation.

The attempted manipulation of LIBOR is totally unacceptable and has further undermined trust in the financial services industry—without which...

At the end of June it was revealed that LIBOR—the London interbank offered rate, the benchmark used in trillions of pounds worth of financial contracts—had been subject to repeated attempts at manipulation.

The attempted manipulation of LIBOR is totally unacceptable and has further undermined trust in the financial services industry—without which...

My honourable friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Greg Clark) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

At the end of June it was revealed that LIBOR—the London Interbank Offered Rate, the benchmark used in trillions of pounds worth of financial contracts—had been subject to repeated attempts at manipulation....

My honourable friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Greg Clark) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

At the end of June it was revealed that LIBOR—the London Interbank Offered Rate, the benchmark used in trillions of pounds worth of financial contracts—had been subject to repeated attempts at manipulation....

My Lords, I rise to raise an important issue concerning the conduct of the Committee stage of the Bill. On 3 October—last Wednesday—I wrote to the noble Lord, Lord Sassoon, in these terms:

“The Wheatley study on the future of LIBOR has produced a series of conclusions with which the Labour...

My Lords, I rise to raise an important issue concerning the conduct of the Committee stage of the Bill. On 3 October—last Wednesday—I wrote to the noble Lord, Lord Sassoon, in these terms:

“The Wheatley study on the future of LIBOR has produced a series of conclusions with which the Labour...

I warmly agree with my noble friend on the Front Bench, and it gives me an opportunity to refer to the noble Lord, Lord Sassoon, himself. In the

Recess I read with regret that he proposes to retire at the end of this year. He and I have had a...

I warmly agree with my noble friend on the Front Bench, and it gives me an opportunity to refer to the noble Lord, Lord Sassoon, himself. In the

Recess I read with regret that he proposes to retire at the end of this year. He and I have had a...

My Lords, I thought we were going to talk about some clauses on LIBOR, but we have now strayed, in the imaginative way that the noble Lord, Lord Barnett, does, into scrapping the Bill. I can assure the House that the Government intend to carry on with this Bill according...

My Lords, I thought we were going to talk about some clauses on LIBOR, but we have now strayed, in the imaginative way that the noble Lord, Lord Barnett, does, into scrapping the Bill. I can assure the House that the Government intend to carry on with this Bill according...

My Lords, we make the obvious point that getting it right is not the same as doing it quickly. We ought always to bear that in mind in your Lordships’ House. There is a straightforward solution to this. One is my noble friend’s suggestion for Report. Since I assume, particularly...

My Lords, we make the obvious point that getting it right is not the same as doing it quickly. We ought always to bear that in mind in your Lordships’ House. There is a straightforward solution to this. One is my noble friend’s suggestion for Report. Since I assume, particularly...

To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 464W, on banks, when he expects to provide further information on discussions with the Crown Office and Prosecution Services in Scotland, and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in Scotland, on the inquiry into allegations of...

To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 464W, on banks, when he expects to provide further information on discussions with the Crown Office and Prosecution Services in Scotland, and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in Scotland, on the inquiry into allegations of...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of the fixing of the LIBOR on the ability of UK banks to (a) remain solvent and (b) operate without payments from the public purse during 2008.

[118186]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of the fixing of the LIBOR on the ability of UK banks to (a) remain solvent and (b) operate without payments from the public purse during 2008.

[118186]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department was first made aware of LIBOR fixing allegations; by whom; what immediate response it made; and if he will publish any associated correspondence or briefings held by his Department.

[118184]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department was first made aware of LIBOR fixing allegations; by whom; what immediate response it made; and if he will publish any associated correspondence or briefings held by his Department.

[118184]