Banking (Special Provisions) Bill

My Lords, that is not, as I hope that the noble Lord will agree, what the Government will approve. What my noble friend just said is relevant to whether there has been a fundamental distortion of competition within a financial service in this country. It is not a precedent for the Government to give an assurance; this is a matter for the Commission and for the European Court of Justice. There will be, if it so finds, fines and orders for compensation; those will all have to be paid, not by the Government but by the taxpayer.