Let me explain Diamond phone call and clear my name, says Bank of England deputy Paul Tucker

 
4 July 2012

The Bank of England deputy governor today asked to appear before MPs “as soon as possible” to clear up his role in the rate-fixing scandal.

Paul Tucker urged the Treasury select committee to let him explain a phone call with Barclays boss Bob Diamond made at the height of the inter-bank lending rate scam.

Mr Diamond, who was giving evidence to MPs today, has published a memo about the conversation which suggests Mr Tucker hinted the Libor rate should fall.

The note sent by Mr Diamond, who resigned with immediate effect yesterday, to Barclays’ then-chief executive John Varley and his right-hand man Jerry del Missier ultimately led to staff pushing down the interbank lending rate, known as the Libor.

A statement from the Bank of England said: “Mr Tucker is keen to give evidence to the committee in order to clarify the position with regard to the events involving the Bank of England, including the telephone conversation with Bob Diamond on October 29, 2008.”

Also today Mr Tucker’s father reacted with anger after his son was dragged into the rate-fixing scandal.

Brian Tucker hit out after Barclays suggested the Bank of England deputy governor leaned on bankers to manipulate interest rates in a bid to calm panicked markets. Speaking from his home in Staffordshire, 79-year-old Mr Tucker said: “Paul has always been honest and honourable. He would never contemplate doing anything underhand.”

His son has been under pressure since publication of the Bob Diamond note, which sets out details of a conversation he had with Mr Tucker at the height of the credit crunch.

The memo, sent by Mr Diamond to Barclays executives, said: “Further to our last call, Mr Tucker reiterated he had received calls from a number of senior figures within Whitehall to question why Barclays was always toward the top end of the Libor pricing.” Mr Diamond said he had asked Mr Tucker to “relay the reality”, that not all banks were providing realistic information.

Mr Tucker, 54, who had been tipped to replace Bank of England governor Mervyn King when he steps down next summer, was educated at Codsall High School, a comprehensive near Wolverhampton. He joined the Bank of England in 1980, soon after graduating with a degree in maths and philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge. He lives with long-term partner Sophie in a Shepherd’s Bush townhouse they bought for £960,000 in 2002. He lists his likes as reading and listening to music and drives a “small” Mercedes.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in