On the make or on the take

Battling for Britain:

1. The financier appointed to protect taxpayer's money is a former trustee of an Liechtenstein bank accused of facilitating massive tax evasion;

2. RBS executive paid £40m who led it’s investments into sub prime loans;

3. Lord Truscott, one of four peers named in the “lords for hire” scandal, has taken at least £70,000 in allowances for overnight accommodation in London while staying at his home in the capital;

4. John McFall, chairman of the Treasury select committee, who will this week lead a public grilling of Britain’s top bankers, stayed in Venice last autumn as a guest of the UK financial industry;

5. RBS is proposing to pay close to £1 billion in bonuses to its staff, just months after it was rescued by a £20 billion taxpayer bail-out.

….but do not wait around for the “smack of firm government”.

It is reported that the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, will stop short of an absolute veto on bonuses or a salary cap at taxpayer-rescued banks such as Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group

All this does nothing for the argument about whether deserving staff lower down the food chain, who were not responsible  for the banks policy, should get bonuses.