Make bankers liable for losses, says Tory MP

Conservative MP Steve Baker has proposed a bill to make bankers liable for losses and to set up a financial crime investigation unit.

Mr Baker said hardworking families and taxpayers "must never again suffer the injustice of carrying the risks and consequences taken in the pursuit of often enormous private returns".

"Risks must fall to those who take them," he argued, calling for more responsibility in the banking system.

Presenting his Financial Institutions (Reform) Bill to the Commons on 29 February 2012, Mr Baker told MPs it provided an opportunity to raise standards "from the bottom up" and end the culture of "rewards for failing" in the banking system.

"It is time for us to say to bankers: put your money where your mouth is. By all means make a fortune, but if you want the reward bear the risks."

His bill received an unopposed first reading but stands little chance of making further progress due to lack of parliamentary time.