Updated: Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:03:09 GMT | By pa.press.net

King 'didn't demand Diamond sack'

Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King has denied telling Barclays to fire former chief executive Bob Diamond but admitted he offered the lender "helpful" advice about the views of regulators.

Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond resigned over the Libor-rigging scandal

Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond resigned over the Libor-rigging scandal

Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King has denied telling Barclays to fire former chief executive Bob Diamond but admitted he offered the lender "helpful" advice about the views of regulators.

Sir Mervyn has previously acknowledged telling Barclays chairman Marcus Agius that Mr Diamond had lost the confidence of regulators following the Libor-rigging scandal - a discussion which prompted Mr Diamond to resign.

But he insisted to Channel 4 News: "I didn't fire anybody. I had a conversation which I thought would be helpful for them in understanding how concerned the regulators were."

He added: "I said to them that I really wanted them to understand how concerned the regulators were.

"Sometimes you can hear the message from the regulators and not really engage in it.

"Sometimes it can be helpful to have a third party say 'Do you really understand how worried they are?' and I think they found that helpful."

Sir Mervyn, who was giving his first live TV interview, said: "I heard the concerns the regulators had and I wanted to impress upon the non-executive board of Barclays the regulators had real concerns."

related stories on msn

User Picture
Write a comment...
0Comments
10 reasons to make MSN UK your homepage (© Microsoft)

more on msn money

msn money poll

Which of these financial mistakes have you made most often?

Thanks for being one of the first people to vote. Results will be available soon. Check for results

  1.  
    3 %
    Accidentally giving wrong information on a credit application
    30 votes
  2.  
    35 %
    Forgetting to make a repayment on time
    370 votes
  3.  
    6 %
    Making multiple credit applications in a short space of time
    68 votes
  4.  
    8 %
    Not checking your credit report before applying for new credit
    82 votes
  5.  
    5 %
    Not staying within your agreed credit limits
    50 votes
  6.  
    22 %
    Taking on too much credit that you’ve then found hard to manage
    237 votes
  7.  
    4 %
    Forgetting to sever financial links with a previous partner
    41 votes
  8.  
    17 %
    Not having enough of a credit record
    186 votes
  9. Skip to results

Total Responses: 1,064
Not scientifically valid. Results are updated every minute.