IN recent years we have seen banks collapsing here in the UK, Iceland and latterly in Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

There have been many different views forwarded by ‘know-all’ commentators, such as political leaders from around Europe, and Obama in the US, but nobody seems to have the definitive answer.

For some time interest rates here have been kept low by the Bank of England, yet gaining access to money by small businesses, and so on, has become more difficult despite moves by the Government.

Now a new banking scandal is upon us. Yet the man in No 10 says ‘no’ to a full public inquiry.

The banks are set to continue their stranglehold on funding to promote growth for business, yet one of the biggest stands accused of manipulating the market, indeed an admission of guilt, the top man has gone.

For how much longer can the state continue to put its trust in such institutions that would outwardly appear corrupt and unfit for purpose as they continue to manipulate their markets. In so doing, they put more jobs at risk by the day by denying small businesses and the employment of many.

Now the public have had enough. Time to have a mass clear-out.

These people have brought more than enough suffering here and elsewhere.

Time for it all to stop, and the banks and the guilty employees to be heavily penalised. The public have picked up the tab for too long: time it stopped.

The Government now has a clear mandate to sort this total nonsense once and for all.

Once upon a time, bank managers were respected, now they are held in contempt.

STEVE PLANT Thorney Leys Witney