The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, this morning defended the country's regulatory structure against fierce questioning from a powerful parliamentary committee on the same day the Bank of England published a report on the causes of the credit crisis and lessons to be learned.

Darling, who met the Treasury Select Committee to discuss his Pre-Budget Report and the Comprehensive Spending Review, also faced a grilling over the crisis at Northern Rock. However, he rejected suggestions that the structure of the UK's tripartite agreement between the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority contributed to the woes of Northern Rock.