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Diamond 'dismayed' at committee claims he was misleading

Diamond 'dismayed' at committee claims he was misleading
Former Barclays chief Bob Diamond has said he is "dismayed" at claims by the Treasury Select Committee that he was "less than candid" when he appeared to give evidence to them last week.

Mr Diamond wrote a letter to committee chair Andrew Tyrie after an evidence session with current Barclays chairman Marcus Agius, at which it was suggested the committee had been misled.

In his letter, Mr Diamond said "Having watched the committee's session today I was dismayed that you and some of your fellow committee members appeared to suggest that I was less than candid with the committee last week."

"Any such suggestion would be totally unfair and unfounded."

Tyrie stood by his comments, however. In an interview with Sky News' Jeff Randall, he said: "We felt that he had been economical with the truth and we had difficulty getting to the bottom of some of the questions we asked him."

Mr Agius' appearence also yielded news that Mr Diamond has waived bonuses worth about £20m after his departure from Barclays amid the Libor fixing scandal.

But the former chief executive will walk away with around £2m annual salary and pension payments.

Downing Street welcomed the former Barclays chief executive's decision to waive the bonus, as a No 10 spokesperson said this morning: "The decision to forgo the bonus is a sign that they understand public concerns and that they understand that there’s a need for a change in the culture of banking."

The clamour for the Committee to recall Mr Diamond has grown. One member of the committee said they had “no choice” but to recall Mr Diamond, while chair Andrew Tyrie said the Treasury Select would consider if it had been misled before giving Mr Diamond the chance to respond.

The select committee released a damning letter from FSA chairman Lord Turner, accusing Barclays of "aggressive" interpretation of banks' rules and "spin" of its misconduct.

Labour MP and committee member John Mann told BBC News: “Diamond’s testimony, frankly, is not worth the paper it’s printed on. He’ll have to come back...

"Even with selective amnesia, some of Mr Diamond’s answers don’t stack up to any rational test of credibility."

Mr Agius also revealed Sir Mervyn King had told Barclays' board that Mr Diamond no longer commanded the confidence of the regulators, leading to his departure.

Mr Agius was the first executive to quit over the rate-fixing furore, but will now remain in his post temporarily to help appoint a successor to Mr Diamond.

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