The chairman of the Financial Services Authority was accused of ducking tough questions by a powerful parliamentary group as he defended the regulator's role in the Northern Rock crisis and dismissed assertions the FSA engaged in spin.

One of the members of the Treasury Select Committee, which this morning grilled Sir Callum McCarthy and FSA chief executive Hector Sants for more than an hour, likened McCarthy to a former journeyman boxer for his ability to dodge blame for the crisis at Northern Rock amid strong criticism of both the Treasury and the Bank of England.