In his first in-depth broadcast interview since taking over Barclays, its chief executive Bob Diamond has admitted that Britain's banks "have to balance being responsible with being competitive".

Interviewed by Today presenter John Humphrys, Mr Diamond said that Barclays had "suffered because of the failure of other UK banks" but insisted that the banking sector still has a crucial role to play in driving economic growth.

"We are counting on banks to drive growth as public spending falls" he said.

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