Banking Bill

Yes. A number of right hon. and hon. Members contributed to the debate. Let me respond directly to a number of the comments that they made. First, I want to address some of the comments made by the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke), the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maples) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Frank Dobson). In their own ways, they all made eloquent contributions—thrashing around, seeking to blame people. The right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe blamed pretty much everyone, but I thank him for his support for the proposals to give the Bank of England a statutory responsibility for financial stability. My right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras gave a tongue-lashing to bankers, auditors, credit rating agencies and quite a few other people besides. On his points about credit rating agencies, we support the principles behind the proposed EU registration scheme. We will look to Adair Turner for advice on the regulation of credit rating agencies in the future.