Just after noon today the 10,000th person signed our e-petition [click here to sign] for an independent judicial inquiry into the banks’ misdeeds and ethics, and into the role of the British Banker Association. Our heartfelt thanks to all who have supported this initiative, which has undoubtedly had an impact on the political scene.
The government still seems unwilling to have such an inquiry – we wonder why, surely no hidden links nor cosy horseplay there!
We are pleased that Ed Miliband has come out in favour of a “full, open and independent inquiry” – but we insist that it must like Leveson be a judicial inquiry with the power to compel witnesses and get all forms of evidence.
But his main answer seems to be – a new Code of Conduct for Bankers. And Ed, sorry, but that is far, far short of what is needed for and by the British people. We need far more, far deeper change.
There are however several strong points in his speech to the Fabian Society, available here on the BBC news website, and we especially agree that:
We won’t tolerate the establishment closing ranks and saying we don’t need an inquiry.”
We are looking to bring to justice those in the financial industry (we exclude the word ‘services’ as an oxymoron) who have long felt they are above the criminal or even civil law, and to bring about cultural change in the UK’s banks. But important as these goals are, we need to go further, and use the spotlight thrown by a truly independent inquiry into the finance sector’s “dark corners” as a major contribution to a more fundamental rethink of our whole political economy.
This is corruption and fraud.
After seeing todays dreadful debacle this is so necessary.
Proper enquiry needed
We need a proper independent inquiry. Bankers must be held to account just like everyone else. There will be many more devastating riots in the immediate future if justice is not seen to be done. The poor face jail sentences for much lesser crimes and they are at least poor when they try to steal for personal gain
I have just signed the epetition for a full inquiry into the actions of the banks.I beleve this must be carried out independant of parliment by a judge so that we can look at all the facts,see how long this was going on and who knew about it.It is important that this is independant and carried out in public only by doing this can public confidence start to be restored.