REUTERS

SHEFFIELD (ENGLAND) DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said that he wanted to “wring the neck” of bankers who award themselves big bonuses so soon after being bailed out by the government during the financial crisis.

Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats and the son of a banker, also called financial market players “terrifying people in pinstripe suits” and said Britain needed “to look at the basic structure of banking.” The strong comments come ahead of a LibDem conference this weekend at which Clegg must rally a party that has suffered a large slump in popularity since signing up to a coalition government with the larger Conservatives in May.

“It’s a red rag to my bull,” Clegg said in an interview with BBC Radio Sheffield, in response to a question on bank bonuses.

“I’m like everybody else — you want to wring the neck of these wretched people who behaved so irresponsibly and we’re now having to bail them out.” Britain, having to slash public spending to tackle a record budget deficit which ballooned during the financial crisis, imposed a one-off bonus tax on bankers last year and has since introduced a levy on balance sheets.

However, efforts to persuade the banks to show more restraint over pay as millions of public sector workers face a two-year pay freeze and widespread job losses have failed to have much impact.

The government has been criticised by voters, unions and the opposition Labour party for being too soft on the financial sector and has commissioned a banking review, which is considering the merits of splitting retail and investment operations at big banks to protect taxpayers from future crises.

Banks warn that London’s competitiveness may be damaged if regulators get too tough.

The LibDems are bracing themselves for a weekend of protests at their spring conference.

Clegg has fallen out of favour with voters after signing up to several policies in government he had opposed before the 2010 election.