FSA Investigation into LIBOR

Lord Hughes of Woodside Excerpts

Thursday 28th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Radice, makes some good points, which I am sure the chief executive of Barclays will be pressed on when he comes before the successors to the noble Lord on the Treasury Select Committee.

[Lord Hughes of Woodside]

My Lords, in the Minister’s Statement he repeatedly says that there were failures of the regulatory system and it was matter of greed, and so on and so forth. What was going on was not a failure. It was deliberate criminal deceit. Under those circumstances, how can the Minister possibly say that criminal charges should be the last resort rather than the first resort? By all means, let us try to tidy up the system. In view of what appears to be absolute, outright criminality, we should recall that fraudsters rely on the fact that they will escape the law through such mealy-mouthed words.

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, I am certainly not going to jump to premature conclusions which are not for the Government—or, I suggest, other Members of this House—to jump to, about what is or is not criminal activity. I have made it quite clear in repeating my right honourable friend’s Statement that investigations continue by the FSA and the Serious Fraud Office. We will hear the views of the appropriate authorities in due course on these matters, but those investigations are ongoing.