SIR – Our banks are ruining our economy with their greedy, grasping selfinterested ways.

[Margaret] Thatcher maintained that this country could support itself on the financial industry alone and that manufacturing industry could go to the wall and was old-fashioned.

She started dismantling the regulation of the banks and financial services that had served this country well for many years.

Of course many of her cabinet had connections with the City.

Other governments followed on, deregulating like lemmings. Even New Labour’s Gordon Brown swept away a swathe of regulations.

The City was going to earn this country its economic future. Oh dear, where did it go wrong? Many politicians are either not worldly wise or act in their own selfinterest.

Many ex-MPs sit on the boards of financial institutions and ex-Prime Ministers especially so.

It was in their interests to please their chums in the City so that they had lucrative jobs to move into when they retired or were kicked out as MPs.

So we, as ordinary tax paying citizens, pay the price of their incompetence and the self-interests of the people at the top level of our society.

These top people are not bothered by the recession.

They already have millions stacked away in offshore, taxfree bank accounts.

What is the answer to our current problems with the banks?

Firstly, we should see any bankers who have broken the law in handcuffs as has happened in the USA.

We must have a firm set of regulations in place and be prepared to police them hard with criminal sanctions.

How we achieve this is beyond me but I do know one thing. On past form I do not expect our politicians to achieve it either.

TERRY JAMES
Pershore