Former FCA chair warns Financial Services Bill 'risks regulators' independence'

Calls to leave institutions alone

Government plans to interfere in the creation of financial regulations threatens the impartiality of City watchdogs, a former chair of the Financial Conduct Authority has said.

Charles Randell, who stood down as chair at the end of May after four years, wrote in The Times that the government "should leave the independent institutions which deliver financial regulation to do their job". Randell cautioned in May, just before he left, that the plans could create "a strong channel" for lobbyists from the financial services industry. UK energy and food prices push inflation to 41-year high At issue is a government proposal for a "call back" power in the Financial Services and Markets Bill, to force regulators to reconsider rules if ministers deem them insuffic...