Gina Miller, along with a group of campaigners, is demanding the chancellor launch an independent review into Andrew Bailey’s appointment as Bank of England governor, saying his time at the Financial Conduct Authority was characterised by a “toxic cocktail of negligence, incompetence and indifference” that allowed a string of financial scandals to go unchecked.
The group has written to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and the head of the Treasury select committee, Conservative MP Mel Stride, saying Bailey must answer questions over scandals that wiped out the savings of small investors during his watch as the chief executive of the City regulator.
Miller said at the launch: “Andrew Bailey’s tenure as chief executive of the FCA has been characterised by a toxic cocktail of negligence, incompetence and indifference to the needs of ordinary depositors, investors and pensioners. On his watch, tens of thousands of Britons have lost money – in many cases losing their life savings which has devastated their lives, families and business.
Were he [Bailey] to be confirmed in this highly responsible and prominent role, it would be a gross betrayal of the government’s duty to protect consumers and a textbook example of rewarding failure. But it also raises questions about the culture of the FCA under Mr Bailey.”
John McDonnell, the militant and failed Shadow Chancellor, has backed Miller’s report, saying Labour was right to call for a delay to Bailey’s appointment. “This report reinforces that we were right to call on the last chancellor on several occasions to postpone the installation of Andrew Bailey in office as governor until there had been an independent review of his role at the FCA,” he said.
An FCA spokesperson rejected Miller’s claims, saying they contained a number of inaccuracies and were made “with little understanding of the role of the FCA”.
“We have disagreed with the Millers on numerous issues relating to the investment industry, and our oversight of it, over recent years and we note their previous calls on Andrew to resign. This is just another example.
We hold firms to account and where we find failures we take action, with the FCA fining firms nearly £5bn since 2013 and tens of billions of pounds being returned to customers through redress schemes.”
The Treasury defended Bailey’s appointment, saying: “The country needs experienced, credible leadership in the role of governor and Andrew Bailey will deliver that. With nearly 40 years of experience in UK monetary and financial policy, his record speaks for itself.”
Unity News Network (UNN) Staff Writer | To find out more details about our staff, please head to the About Us section on our website.
