Trade associations representing the banking industry in the UK and Europe have hit back at accusations from Robert Jenkins, a member of the Bank of England's interim Financial Policy Committee, that bankers are indulging in dishonest lobbying tactics.

Jenkins gave a speech last night at the third Gordon Midgley Debate in London, at which he accused banks of at first denying the need for reform, before then making efforts to water down industry reforms by demanding a dumbed down "level playing field".