Bob Diamond's Deal, No Deal as taxman delves deep

Bob Diamond keeps schtum!

Barclays Bank just announced that they have done very well in the profits department. Bob Diamond, chief executive and counting house boss, got a hefty bonus. Smiles all round. Now the government has just announced that a bank (it was Barclays - they admitted it) has done very well in the tax avoidance department. Smile wiped off Bob's face as money is demanded back by HMRC. Of course, Barclays say they didn't do anything wrong. Well, not criminal, that is. But banks today are little more that clever casino operators. What they do may not be a felony but it isn't always morally right.

Saving £500,000 in tax by using a tax avoidance scheme. Not exactly the corporate citizenship that Barclays aspires to. Corporate sleaze needs watching.

And this bank is joined in the murky waters of corporate land by that huge bottom feeder that is News International. One rogue reporter, eh? More like a whole school of rogues. Rebekah Wade/Brooks, the erstwhile editor of one of the red top rags, got a horse from the police. On loan, so we are told. That horse must know a bit. Corruption all round, dodgy dealings and well-feathered nests.

I have a horrible sense that the British people are not really bothered. These corporate types have hides of rhinoceroses. Nothing much pricks them. Yet enterprising businesses, the self-employed and the general workforce have to struggle along as the economy falters and fits. If we were all in this together, this nonsense at the top level of business would stop. But we aren't and I don't think it will.

Posted in: Barclays Bank,Bob Diamond,News International,Rebekah Brooks