S P O R T S P O R T

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W O R L D N E W S G R E E C E - B A I L O U T

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GREEK GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SAYS THE BAILOUT AGREEMENT WILL BE FINALISED BECAUSE, SIMPLY, TIME IS RUNNING OUT

After three days of high drama, political posturing and brinkmanship, Greece’s three-party coalition was expected on Wednesday to approve draconian terms attached to a €130bn (£109bn) rescue programme for the debt-choked country.

Ending weeks of economic deadlock, Athens’ bickering party chiefs were poised to agree yet more belt-tightening – the price of further aid from the EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, the “troika” of creditors that have kept the country afloat.

Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker invited eurozone finance ministers to meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the complex €130bn rescue. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, will also attend.

“All the signs are that the agreement will be finalised because time has run out,” said a senior government official.

Analysts said the move would come as a huge relief to European leaders, who had watched the continual delays to negotiations with a mixture of exasperation and disbelief. Eurozone finance ministers, already angered by Athens’s perceived foot-dragging in implementing reforms, had hoped to have the bailout ratified on Monday.

Much had rested on the high-stakes talks, with the country ultimately looking at bankruptcy and a likely exit from the euro and EU if it had failed to accept the loan agreement. Athens has less than six weeks before it will be called to repay €14.5bn in maturing debt – a sum its state coffers simply do not have.

GREECE CLOSES IN ON BAILOUT DEAL AFTER THREE DAYS OFBRINKMANSHIP

Reported by Helena Smith

W O R L D N E W S G R E E C E - B A I L O U T

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Britain has already contributed around £1billion to Greece in loan guarantees through the International Monetary Fund and is likely to face another bill of £1billion for any share of further support.

Curae; Aenean sagittis dignissim sagittis. Morbi et massa id odio pharetra porta sit amet eget nisl.

Sed neque purus, condimentum eu volutpat quis, tincidunt at risus. Nullam suscipit massa ac tellus viverra vulputate. Maecenas dignissim sodales tincidunt. Sed bibendum placerat vulputate. Sed sagittis volutpat blandit. Nam bibendum consequat ante at pharetra. Vestibulum vel lacus dolor. Integer vitae semper ligula. Vestibulum pellentesque pulvinar dapibus. Pellentesque sed nunc massa, scelerisque eleifend erat. Duis eget blandit est. Praesent at tortor lorem, quis scelerisque nunc. Etiam facilisis, magna id vehicula vestibulum, nibh nisi ullamcorper risus, ac sodales erat metus varius lorem. Nulla euismod, lectus eu aliquet auctor, orci eros auctor lacus, eget mattis arcu mi non magna. Fusce a justo odio, facilisis hendrerit ipsum. Suspendisse

GREECE ECONOMIC OVERVIEWHARRY REDNAPPTAX EVASION

6

4

2

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10

07 08 09 10 11 12

GDP GROWTH ON PREVIOUS YEAR - %

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10

-12

-14

-16

-18

07 08 09 10 11 12

IMF GOVERNMENT DEFLICT FORECAST AS % OF GDP

07 08 09 10 11 12

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

60

55

50

45

40

35

30 07 08 09 10 11 12

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE - % MANUFACTURING PMI

Key Economic Indicators Euro Zone Greece

U K N E W S

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Queen Elizabeth II in her coronation crown, 1953.

T H E Q U E E N S D I A M O N D J U B I L E E

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The Queen has visited a school in Norfolk as she marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne.Earlier she said she was dedicating herself “anew to your service” and that she was “deeply moved” by support for the Diamond Jubilee.

The Queen was met by crowds at King’s Lynn Town Hall before going to Dersingham Infant and Nursery School.Gun salutes were held around the UK, including in London and Edinburgh.

The main celebrations for her anniversary will be in June. The Queen, 85, usually spends Accession Day - the day her father, George VI, died in 1952 - privately but this year has the two engagements in Norfolk.

Two official photographs were released and a 41-gun salute was held in Hyde Park, London, followed by a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.

For the Queen, this is a day of celebration - her great-great grandmother Victoria was the only other British monarch to achieve this milestone - and commemoration, marking as it does the anniversary of the death of her beloved father, George VI.

So, a significant moment will pass in a deliberately low-key manner with a visit to a town hall and a primary school in Norfolk. As the weather improves and the months go by, there will be nothing subdued about the events which will be staged for a reign which is the second longest in British history.

In her Diamond Jubilee message, with the words “I dedicate myself anew to your service”, the Queen is repeating a pledge she first made at the age of 21. This is a royal octogenarian who intends to remain as Sovereign for as long as she lives.

THE QUEENSDIAMOND JUBILEE

Reported by Peter Hunt

LONGEST-REIGNING BRITISH MONARCHS

U K N E W S

If the Queen is still in reign by 26 May 2024, she would surpass Louis XIV of France as the longest reigning monarch in European history. At this point the Queen would be 98 years and 35 days old. Louis XIV of France reigned for 72 years and 101 days.

YEARS / DAYSNAME DAYSFROM

Victoria 20 June 1837 22,226 63 Years, 216 Days

DURATION

TO

REIGN

20 June 1837

Elizabeth II 6 February 21,925 60 Years, 10 DaysPresent

George III 25 October 21,664 59 Years, 96 Days29 January

James VI of Scotland 24 July 1567 21,066 57 Years, 246 Days27 March

Henry III of England 18 October 20,483 56 Years, 29 Days16 November

Edward III of Eng- 25 January 18,410 50 Years, 147 Days21 June 1377

William I of Scot- 9 December 17,892 48 Years, 360 Days4 December 1214

Llywelyn of Gwynedd 1195 unknown c. 45 Years11 April 1240

Elizabeth I of Eng- 17 November 1558 16,198 44 Years, 127 Days24 March

David II of Scotland 7 June 1329 15,235 41 Years, 260 Days22 February 1371

Jane 10 June 1553 9 Days -19 June 1553

Sweyn Fork- 25 December 40 Days -3 February

Edgar II 15 October 63 Days -17 December

Edward V 9 April 1483 78 Days -26 June 1483

Matilda 7 April 1141 208 Days -1 November

Edmund II 23 April 1016 221 Days -30 November

Harold II 5 January 1066 282 Days -14 October 1066

Dafydd III 12 December 295 Days -3 October

AND THE NOT SO LUCKY

T H E Q U E E N S D I A M O N D J U B I L E E

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Winston Churchill1952 - 1995 (3 Years)

Anthony Eden1955 - 1957 (2 Years)

Harold Macmillan1957 - 1963 (6 Years)

Alec Douglas-Home1963 - 1964 (1 Year)

Harold Wilson1964 - 1970 (6 Years)

EVENTS PLANNED TO TAKE PLACE DURING THE SUMMER:

LIST OF PRIME MINISTERS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II

The Queen leading a flotilla of a thousand boats along the Thames and a chain of beacons being lit across the country.

There will be a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in June and a formal carriage procession by the Queen.

Other members of the Royal Family will visit the 15 other countries where the Queen is head of state, as well as some other Commonwealth countries.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh also intend to travel as widely as possible across the UK.

A set of six 1st class definitive stamps, all of which feature official portraits of the Queen, are also being issued to mark the monarch’s milestone.

The Queen’s 60 years as monarch are set to be marked by a series of regional, national and international events during 2012, culminating in a four-day long UK Bank Holiday weekend in June.

1000 BOATS ALONG THE THAMES SERVICE AT ST PAUL’S

VISIT THE COMMONWEALTH TRAVEL THE UK

FOUR-DAY LONG BANK HOLIDAY 1ST CLASS STAMPS

Edward Heath1970 - 1974 (4 Years)

Harold Wilson1974 - 1976 (2 Years)

James Callaghan1976 - 1979 (3 Years)

Margaret Thatcher1979 - 1990 (11 Years)

John Major1990 - 1997 (7 Years)

Tony Blair1997 - 2007 (10 Years)

Gordan Brown 2007 - 2010 (3 Years)

David Cameron2010 - Present

B U S I N E S S

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LEADING SHAREHOLDER GROUPS HAVE ATTACKED BARCLAYS OVER THE LEVEL OF BONUSES PAID BY THE BANK TO STAFF IN ITS INVESTMENT

BANKING ARM.

B A R C L A Y S B O N U S C U T S

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Barclays announced a 32 per cent cut in investment bankers’ bonuses yesterday as it reported a 3 per cent fall in annual profits to £5.9bn and warned that it is likely to miss its ambitious, medium-term profitability target.

But the bank’s attempts to defuse a fresh row over City pay by detailing bonus cuts failed as it was accused by the influential investors group the Association of British Insurers of conducting “business as usual”.

Barclays’ chief executive Bob Diamond refused to disclose his annual bonus, which is expected to be about £3m, until the annual report is published next month. The bank said bonuses for the executive directors and eight highest-paid executives were cut by 48 per cent.

That is certain to include Jerry del Missier and Rich Ricci, the heads of its investment bank Barclays Capital, whose pay packages were £14.3m and £14m last year, as well as Mr Diamond.

Bonuses across BarCap, where profits fell 32 per cent to £3bn last year, have been cut by 30 per cent to an average £64,000 for its 24,000 staff. There is also a first-time maximum cash level for annual bonuses set at £65,000.

The ABI said: “ABI members have asked all UK-listed banks for a shift in the balance between maintaining capital strength, delivering returns to shareholders and reward to employees. Whilst overall bonus levels at Barclays have been reduced, for Barclays Capital, this reduction is only in line with the fall in profit before tax.

“This appears to be very close to business as usual. It is not the signal of the change required in order to improve the investment case.”

Barclays is the first of the major UK banks to report its full-year results for a period when banks have been under intense scrutiny over lending and bonuses.

Mr Diamond said banks still had a problem in terms of how they are seen by politicians and customers. “We have to get the public’s confidence back again and we have to get lending back up again. That’s slightly difficult because two of the biggest banks remain partially in public ownership. But the message has to be ‘it’s about the economy, it’s about growth, it’s about growth and it’s about growth’.”

Mr Diamond said he remains solidly behind the economic policies of the Chancellor, George Osborne. He said: “The challenge we face in the UK is fairly simple. Debt as a percentage of GDP has increased, not decreased, over the past two years. The Chancellor’s focus on cutting public spending and cutting public debt remains absolutely right.”

But Mr Diamond admitted Barclays might not achieve the target of a 13 per cent return on equity by 2013 which he set when he took over from John Varley in 2010. The bank yesterday said this key measure of its profitability had dropped from 7.2 per cent to 5.8 per cent last year.

BARCLAYS ATTACKED OVER PAY DESPITE CUTTING BONUSES

Reported by Nick Goodway

LONDON — Big money flowed Wednesday evening for the second day running as Sotheby’s sold 41 works of Impressionist and Modern art for £78.9 million.

Monet’s ‘‘L’Entrée de Giverny en hiver,” an 1885 view of the road leading to Giverny under snow, sold for £8.2 million. It had never been offered at auction.

Giorgio de Chirico painted “Hector and Andromache” in the late 1920s.That success, equivalent to about $125 million, came with an unexpected message. Impressionism is making a comeback thanks to paintings that have been out of the market for decades.

For the first time in years the highest price in a sale of Modern and Impressionist art greeted an Impressionist landscape rather than some 20th-century avant-garde picture. Monet’s 1885 view of the road leading to Giverny under snow sold for £8.2 million, well above the estimate set at £4.5 million to £6.5 million plus a sale charge in excess of 12 percent.

“L’Entrée de Giverny en hiver,” which had never been offered at auction, had been out of the market since 1924. It appeared in a museum show only once — the “Claude Monet” retrospective in 1930 at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.

The picture has been spared the multiple cleanings and varnishings suffered by works that are often moved around and is in a superb state of preservation. The delicate shades of salmon pink, grayish blue and deep maroon or blackish purple are intact. Not least, the landscape is charged with the new energy that Monet infused into his brushwork in the 1880s. This made the picture

RARITY MAKES THE HEART BEAT FASTER

C U L T U R E

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worth every penny of the seemingly large amount.

Impressionism enjoyed other good scores. Monet’s 1881 view of the wild growth covering the banks of the Seine near Vétheuil last came on the block at Sotheby’s London sale of Oct. 23, 1963. It too was exhibited in a museum only once — in New York in 1962 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The landscape doubled its high estimate at £2.5 million.

Even Sisley, whose works often sell with difficulty, was well received. An 1877 view of the Seine flowing under the “Pont de Saint Cloud” near Paris exceeded the upper end of the estimate at £937,250.

German Expressionists and Surrealists were the other big winners, as has been the case for some years.

At £7.3 million, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s “The Bosquet: Albertplatz in Dresden” dating from 1911, became the second most expensive picture in Sotheby’s sale.

“The Electric Tram,” a small composition in oil and collage on board executed by Otto Dix in 1919 at the tail end of Expressionism — when the movement was veering toward a humoristic style with a cartoon-like touch — went up to £2.95 million, more than two and a half times the high estimate.

But pictures that were too blatantly overestimated ran into difficulties.

Reported by Souren Melikian

R A R I T Y M A K E S T H E H E A R T B E A T F A S T E R

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BONHAMSThe world’s oldest British-owned auction house provides an eclectic mix of auctions from decorative art to antiquities and vintage cars.Bonhams, 101 New Bond St, W1

CHISWICK AUCTIONSArt and antiques with a bi-monthly ‘fine’ sale for higher value stock. Chiswick Auctions, 1 Colville Rd, W3 8BL

CHRISTIE’SFounded in London in 1766, Christie’s is a leader in art auctions worldwide.Christie’s, 8 King St, SW1

ART & ANTIQUES AUCTION HOUSES WITHIN LONDON

ROSEBERY’SA wide range of decorative arts, ceramics, glass, jewellery, paintings, maps and rugs go under the hammer, plus a monthly picture auction.Rosebery’s, 74-76 Knights Hill, SE27 0JD

SOTHEBY’SA wide-ranging collection of art and antiques is sold by this 260-year-old auction house.Sotheby’s, 34-35 New Bond St, W1

SOUTHGATE AUCTION ROOMSA good range of antique furniture and household goods. Southgate Auction Rooms, 55 High St, N14 6LD

Claude Monet’s L’Entree de Giverny en Hiver sold last week for £8.2m at Sotherby’s London

C U L T U R E

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Below is a list of the work in the London Evening Impressionist and Modern sales that exceeded their estimate range. There were many more works especially by Jean Arp in the day sales that also showed strong demand. But here we confine ourselves to the top 10 lots over £1m that exceeded expectations.

TOP 10 AUCTION LOTS THAT HAVE EXCEEDED EXPECTIONS

*Percentage increase from the estimated price to the price the piece was sold for

London Imp-Mod Evening Sales Above Estimates

Marc Chagall St. Jeannet

(£2.1m) £2.95m

Paul Delvaux Le nu et le mannequin

(£2.5m) £3.3m

Geroges Braque L’Oliveraie

(£2.5m) £5.8m

Claude Monet L’Entree de Giverny en Hiver

(£5.5m) £8.2m

40%

103%

32%

49%

R A R I T Y M A K E S T H E H E A R T B E A T F A S T E R

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Joan Miro Painting Poem

(£7.5m) £16.8m

Otto Dix The Electric Tram

(£1m) £2.95m

Camille PissaroPommiers a Eragny

(£1m) £2.95

Paul Signac La Corne d’Or(£5m) £8.77m

Robert Delauney Tour Eiffel

(£2m) £3.3m

Vincent Van GoghChapelle de Saint-Remy

(£6m) £10.9m

65%

81%

75%

195%

195%

124%

S P O R T

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H A R R Y R E D N A P P T A X E V A S I O N

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Harry Redknapp said his “nightmare” was over after being cleared of tax evasion. The Tottenham boss had denied accepting secret untaxed bonus payments from former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric, while he was club manager. Mr Mandaric was also cleared of two charges of cheating the public revenue over the £189,000 payments. Mr Redknapp, who was close to tears, said the case “should never have come to court”.Speaking on the steps of Southwark Crown Court, he thanked his family, the fans at Tottenham and his legal team after coming through the five-year investigation, which is believed to have cost about £8m. He said: “The Wigan game [on 31 January] was the most moving I’ve ever felt, for me personally to have them singing my name throughout the game while all this was going on, that will always be special to me.

Peter Crouch was sold by Portsmouth to Aston Villa in 2002 “It’s been a nightmare, it’s been five years, it’s a case that should never have come to court. “I’m looking forward to going home and getting on with my life.” Former England boss Graham Taylor said the verdict now opens the way for Redknapp to take charge of the national team in the future. Sven-Goran Eriksson, another former England manager, said he thought Mr Redknapp would be a “very, very good choice” as Fabio Capello’s successor. Bookmakers have now stopped taking bets on Mr Redknapp becoming the next England boss. Mr Redknapp and Mr Mandaric embraced in the dock as the verdicts were read after five hours of deliberations.Mr Mandaric, who is currently chairman of Sheffield Wednesday, walked up to Det Insp Dave Manley to shake his hand and said: “Thank you”.‘Egg on face’ Afterwards, Mr Mandaric said: “I have to try and pinch myself and wake up from

the horrible dream.

During Mr Redknapp’s and Mr Mandaric’s trial, jurors heard the Spurs boss received two payments totalling £189,000, into his “Rosie 47” account in Monaco - named after his pet dog.The defence said the money was an investment made by Mr Mandaric while Mr Redknapp said he forgot about the account and had very little to do with it. The prosecution claimed the first payment of £93,100 was a bonus for selling striker Crouch for £3.25m profit in 2002. The court heard Mr Redknapp’s cut of transfer profits was reduced from 10% to 5% when he moved from being Portsmouth’s director of football to manager in March 2002 but Mr Redknapp told jurors he felt he was was “morally” due the full 10%. Mr Mandaric said he “wanted to do something special for Harry” but he denied it was compensation for his Crouch bonus and said it was an investment for a “friend”. During the trial, Mr Redknapp admitted lying to News of the World reporter Rob Beasley about the alleged Crouch payment because he did not want negative stories ahead of a cup final.

HARRY REDNAPPTAX EVASION

S P O R T

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£1.3MILLION HM Revenue & Customs an-nounced the Harry Rednapp Trial costs £1.3 Million

ROSIE 47Rednapp named the offshore bank account after his dog named Rosie, and 47 was the year he was born

5 YEARSThe City of London Police spent 5 years investigating the case against Harry Rednapp & Milan Mandaric

£8MILLIONIt cost the City of London Police £8M to investigate the case against Harry Rednapp & Milan Mandaric

363 POLICE CARS£8M could cover the cost of 363 Police cars including the travel costs and maintenance (£22,000 p.car)

£189,000 The amount Rednapp held within his Monaco Bank account, which he was accused for avoiding tax

£10 MILLIONIncluding Harry’s current contract and previous contracts he is estimated to be worth £10M.The Football Rich List 2011/12

RICHEST MANAGERS

1. Fabio Capello

2. Sir Alex Ferguson

3. Carlo Ancelotti

4. Arsene Wenger

5. Roberto Mancini

6. Steve Bruce

7. Mark Hughes

England

Manchester United

Chelsea

Arsenal

Manchester City

Sunderland

Fulham

The richest football coaches in the UK 2011

The Football Rich List 2011/12

£37M

£27M

£25M

£19M

£16M

£11M

£11M

REDNAPP & MANDARIC TRIAL IN FACTS

H A R R Y R E D N A P P T A X E V A S I O N

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At £30 billion per year, fraud in the UK is more than twice as high as thought, with tax evasion costing the public purse over £15 billion per year and benefit fraud just over £1 billion.

FAMOUS TAX EVADERS

TAXES PAID BACK (£)TAX EVADER SENTENCE REASON FOR TAX EVADING

Walter Anderson Anderson a former Telecommunications Executive hid his earnings in a web of Aliases and offshore bank accounts.

9 Years 400M

Wesley Snipes Snipes excuse for not filing tax returns from 1999 to 2004 was because he was a “Nonresident Alien”

3 Years 17M

Willie Nelson Nelson recorded an album, The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories? To help pay back his taxes

- 16.7M

Nicolas Cage Cage blamed the negligence on his former financial manager and said that he was just a victim

- 6.6M

Judy Garland During 2004 the State of New York struck The Wizard of Oz actress with a £4M tax bill for a failure to pay taxes during 1951 - 9152

- 4M

Marc Anthony Singer and husband of Jennifer Lopez, had to pay back £2.5M for a failure to pay taxes during 2000 - 2004

- 2.5M

Annie Leibovitz To repay the tax liens, Leibovitz pledged four of her homes and the copyright to every photograph she has ever taken, or ever will.

- 2.1M

Al Capone Legend has it the gangster called tax laws a joke because “the government can’t collect legal taxes on illegal money.” But the government had the last laugh: Capone spent seven and a half years in prison, and never recovered his crime empire.

11 Years £215,000

Richard Hatch In 2005 it was reported that Richard Hatch, a.k.a. “the fat naked guy” and first winner of Survivor, never paid any taxes on his $1 million prize.

3 Years £200,000

Sophia Loren The Man of La Mancha star was not living la dolce vita in 1982, when she served 18 days of a 30-day sentence in an Italian prison for tax evasion.

30 Days £7,000

B U S I N E S S

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LEADING SHAREHOLDER GROUPS HAVE ATTACKED BARCLAYS OVER THE LEVEL OF BONUSES PAID BY THE BANK TO STAFF IN ITS INVESTMENT

BANKING ARM.

B A R C L A Y S B O N U S C U T S

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Barclays announced a 32 per cent cut in investment bankers’ bonuses yesterday as it reported a 3 per cent fall in annual profits to £5.9bn and warned that it is likely to miss its ambitious, medium-term profitability target.

But the bank’s attempts to defuse a fresh row over City pay by detailing bonus cuts failed as it was accused by the influential investors group the Association of British Insurers of conducting “business as usual”.

Barclays’ chief executive Bob Diamond refused to disclose his annual bonus, which is expected to be about £3m, until the annual report is published next month. The bank said bonuses for the executive directors and eight highest-paid executives were cut by 48 per cent.

That is certain to include Jerry del Missier and Rich Ricci, the heads of its investment bank Barclays Capital, whose pay packages were £14.3m and £14m last year, as well as Mr Diamond.

Bonuses across BarCap, where profits fell 32 per cent to £3bn last year, have been cut by 30 per cent to an average £64,000 for its 24,000 staff. There is also a first-time maximum cash level for annual bonuses set at £65,000.

The ABI said: “ABI members have asked all UK-listed banks for a shift in the balance between maintaining capital strength, delivering returns to shareholders and reward to employees. Whilst overall bonus levels at Barclays have been reduced, for Barclays Capital, this reduction is only in line with the fall in profit before tax.

“This appears to be very close to business as usual. It is not the signal of the change required in order to improve the investment case.”

Barclays is the first of the major UK banks to report its full-year results for a period when banks have been under intense scrutiny over lending and bonuses.

Mr Diamond said banks still had a problem in terms of how they are seen by politicians and customers. “We have to get the public’s confidence back again and we have to get lending back up again. That’s slightly difficult because two of the biggest banks remain partially in public ownership. But the message has to be ‘it’s about the economy, it’s about growth, it’s about growth and it’s about growth’.”

Mr Diamond said he remains solidly behind the economic policies of the Chancellor, George Osborne. He said: “The challenge we face in the UK is fairly simple. Debt as a percentage of GDP has increased, not decreased, over the past two years. The Chancellor’s focus on cutting public spending and cutting public debt remains absolutely right.”

But Mr Diamond admitted Barclays might not achieve the target of a 13 per cent return on equity by 2013 which he set when he took over from John Varley in 2010. The bank yesterday said this key measure of its profitability had dropped from 7.2 per cent to 5.8 per cent last year.

BARCLAYS ATTACKED OVER PAY DESPITE CUTTING BONUSES

Reported by Nick Goodway

B U S I N E S S

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LEADING SHAREHOLDER GROUPS HAVE ATTACKED BARCLAYS OVER THE LEVEL OF BONUSES PAID BY THE BANK TO STAFF IN ITS INVESTMENT

BANKING ARM.

B A R C L A Y S B O N U S C U T S

0 1

Barclays announced a 32 per cent cut in investment bankers’ bonuses yesterday as it reported a 3 per cent fall in annual profits to £5.9bn and warned that it is likely to miss its ambitious, medium-term profitability target.

But the bank’s attempts to defuse a fresh row over City pay by detailing bonus cuts failed as it was accused by the influential investors group the Association of British Insurers of conducting “business as usual”.

Barclays’ chief executive Bob Diamond refused to disclose his annual bonus, which is expected to be about £3m, until the annual report is published next month. The bank said bonuses for the executive directors and eight highest-paid executives were cut by 48 per cent.

That is certain to include Jerry del Missier and Rich Ricci, the heads of its investment bank Barclays Capital, whose pay packages were £14.3m and £14m last year, as well as Mr Diamond.

Bonuses across BarCap, where profits fell 32 per cent to £3bn last year, have been cut by 30 per cent to an average £64,000 for its 24,000 staff. There is also a first-time maximum cash level for annual bonuses set at £65,000.

The ABI said: “ABI members have asked all UK-listed banks for a shift in the balance between maintaining capital strength, delivering returns to shareholders and reward to employees. Whilst overall bonus levels at Barclays have been reduced, for Barclays Capital, this reduction is only in line with the fall in profit before tax.

“This appears to be very close to business as usual. It is not the signal of the change required in order to improve the investment case.”

Barclays is the first of the major UK banks to report its full-year results for a period when banks have been under intense scrutiny over lending and bonuses.

Mr Diamond said banks still had a problem in terms of how they are seen by politicians and customers. “We have to get the public’s confidence back again and we have to get lending back up again. That’s slightly difficult because two of the biggest banks remain partially in public ownership. But the message has to be ‘it’s about the economy, it’s about growth, it’s about growth and it’s about growth’.”

Mr Diamond said he remains solidly behind the economic policies of the Chancellor, George Osborne. He said: “The challenge we face in the UK is fairly simple. Debt as a percentage of GDP has increased, not decreased, over the past two years. The Chancellor’s focus on cutting public spending and cutting public debt remains absolutely right.”

But Mr Diamond admitted Barclays might not achieve the target of a 13 per cent return on equity by 2013 which he set when he took over from John Varley in 2010. The bank yesterday said this key measure of its profitability had dropped from 7.2 per cent to 5.8 per cent last year.

BARCLAYS ATTACKED OVER PAY DESPITE CUTTING BONUSES

Reported by Nick Goodway