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Barclays boss Bob Diamond has defended the practise of awarding big bonuses to bankers, during a two and half hour grilling by MPs.
Appearing before the Treasury committee this morning, the Barclays CEO said bonuses were an essential part of ensuring his bank was able to attract the best staff.
"We can't isolate bonuses. I can't do that, it's not within my gift," he told MPs.
"I understand there's a lot of debate in the area of bonuses a lot of sensitivity, I am committed as CEO to being responsible and providing any restraint I can.
"I can assure this committee bonuses are not taken lightly; we pay what is appropriate to pay.”
But despite telling the committee the bank had "no intention of paying more in bonuses than is necessary" he dodged the question of whether he would accept a bonus himself this year.
He told Labour MP John Mann that he had yet to be offered one by the bank's board and that any decision would be taken after speaking with his family.
Diamond also confirmed that he has not been personally asked by the prime minister or chancellor to show restraint when considering what bonus to accept.
But Mann asked Diamond: "Why are you worth all the money you are paid?"
He added: "Why is it easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven?"
And he launched a scathing attack on the banks history, accusing Barclays of "moral haze" including freezing the accounts of Jewish people during the Second World War and paying excessive salaries and bonuses when it was partially responsible for the current economic crisis.
"You're not a big fan of Barclays are you," Diamond observed.
In a swipe at competitors RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, Diamond said no bank should ever be a "burden on the taxpayer".
Both banks were forced to accept government bail outs during the financial crisis.
Diamond told the committee: "We never put the bank at risk; we never put the system at risk.
"We never took a single penny of taxpayer money from any country anywhere in the world."
He added: "It's not OK for taxpayers to have to bail out banks. Banks should be allowed to fail".
But Conservative MP and former Barclays employee Andrea Leadsom accused Diamond of spinning a "fantasy story" about how well Barclays had weathered the storm.
"You are in denial about the amount the taxpayer has supported you," she said.
"Its like Black Jack, you keep playing and playing until you blow up. There is no downside.”
Chancellor George Osborne is due to respond to an urgent question from shadow chancellor Alan Johnson in the Commons on the government's policy towards bank bonuses this afternoon.
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