Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to reports that George Osborne pressed the EU last year to spare the Co-operative Bank from tougher rules, said:

“There are now serious questions for George Osborne to answer about how the Co-operative Bank got into trouble on his watch and his role over the last three years.

“The Chancellor and his Ministers actively encouraged the bank’s failed bid for 632 Lloyds branches, with reports of 30 Ministerial meetings to smooth the way for this deal.

“What due diligence was done by the Chancellor and the Treasury into the state of the Co-op Bank and its leadership? And why did the Chancellor argue in Brussels for the Co-op Bank to be spared from tougher rules?

“If David Cameron wants a proper inquiry into what went wrong at the Co-op Bank, then George Osborne will have to answer all these questions.”