BBA slams Livingstone 'hang a banker' jibe

20 February 2012 1:23 pm | By Steve Tolley

KNIGHT.jpg

The British Bankers’ Association has slammed Ken Livingstone for calling for bankers to be hung one by one as an example to the others.

Last week, Labour’s London mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone told an Electrical Contractors Association annual dinner 20 or 30 times to “hang a banker a week until the others improve”.

BBA chief executive Angela Knight says continual demonisation of the entire banking industry is “unhelpful” and undermines the drive to attract new jobs to London.

She says: “If Mr Livingstone intends to make London hostile to business, and if he is considering stringing up a fair proportion of his electorate, he is going the right way about it.”

Livingstone was London mayor between 2000 and 2008 and is currently neck and neck with Conservative candidate and current mayor Boris Johnson in the polls for City Hall. The election is on May 3.

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Readers' comments (5)

  • JulieB | 20 Feb 2012 2:04 pm

    No one should be hung. But the regulators & the government's in the UK & globally should surely be regulating the Quad Trillion off balance sheet - financial derivatives market.

    They've been warned - and if they continue to fiddlle while Rome burns the whole globally economy could very well collapse.

    The mainstream media needs to get hold of what's happened in the US regarding MF Global et al. It's a disgrace!

    Only a couple of days ago Reuter's reported that house repossession or foreclosure abuses over "robosigning" or fraudulent documentation are indemic over in the US.

    The whole banking system worldwide needs an overhaul since Prudence left the building!

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  • Anonymous | 22 Feb 2012 11:49 am

    Bankers can take your house, your business your possessions your life, money out of your account - why because you can't pay the bills why because bankers screwed up the world economy enriching themselves.

    All bankers - no of course not - but the "good" ones are not exactly coming out against their tainted colleagues.

    Bankers should pay attention to history - in particular 1789 is a date that springs to mind.

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  • Anonymous | 22 Feb 2012 12:00 pm

    Yes but isn't this what the real controlers of power want-crash the economy then take over with a one world cashless society scary stuff with computer chips and so on!? Arnt we being herded into a cage? P

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  • Phil Castle | 22 Feb 2012 12:44 pm

    In some countries, comments like this could result in someone actually being hung!
    What if instead of suggesting hanging, Ken had suggested rioting?
    Isn't incitement to murder worse than incitement to riot?
    Correct me if I am wrong as I haven't read the article in last weeks Sunday Times colour supplement, but there was someone who posted comments on facebook encouraging rioting and disorder (I think they were from Wales), last year and as a result they now have a 4 year prison sentance.

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  • Exasperated Me | 22 Feb 2012 1:05 pm

    I'm sure he meant politicians, he is clearly confused.

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