The sad death of Alistair Darling has rightly been marked by tributes to his time as chancellor. Yet to give him full credit for avoiding a great depression (Obituary, December 1) and saving the banking system following the run on Northern Rock paints a less than complete picture.
Equal recognition must be given to the then governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, for refusing the chancellor’s demands to boost uphold for the banking system. The governor refused levels of uphold beyond those provided on the basis of moral hazard, and since we now know that some of the same bankers supporting the chancellor’s pleas for more help were either manipulating (or planning to control) markets
in Libor, metals, commodities and derivatives and forcing company liquidations in disregard of due process, then King deserves full credit for holding firm and playing his part in averting what could have turned into
a systemic disaster.
Charles Bishop
Managing Director, Capital Value Brokers, London W8, UK
