The Evening Standard has come out swinging for its mayor Boris Johnson again today in a loudly trumpeted report that he was “shocked and baffled” that banks had failed to acknowledge public outrage over the multi-billion-pound payouts.

The new position comes only a week after Boris was angrily claiming that the Treasury’s tax on bankers bonuses would drive them out of the city.

In a reversal, he told the Evening Standard:

Nobody can possibly defend the huge sums of bonuses being awarded. The banks should not be paying out huge bonuses as though it was business as usual. They have to show they recognise the game changed when the taxpayer bailed them out.

He also apparently suggested banks should skim money off bonuses to set up a fund to help small and medium-sized businesses in the capital.

That is expected to go down in the City like a lead balloon.

Only last week Boris expressed his opposition to a temporary 50% levy on banking bonuses over £25,000, saying it would drive 9,000 bankers out of the City.

But this claim was undermined by the chair of his own London Development Agency, Harvey McGrath, who told the London assembly: “I am not aware of any specific financial institution that has declared that it will relocate from London.”

Reader comments

1. Liberal Conspiracy

   :: Boris suddenly 'shocked' over bankers bonuses http://bit.ly/6mfjRn

2. Political Animal

   RT @libcon Boris suddenly 'shocked' over bankers bonuses http://bit.ly/6mfjRn < There's no 'shock', just an insidious political game.

3. Denny

   Ride the banker bonus rent-a-quote seesaw with @MayorOfLondon: http://bit.ly/4Mj3FS

4. Samuel Tarry

   RT@politic_animal RT@libcon Boris 'shocked' over bankers bonuses http://bit.ly/6mfjRn < There's no 'shock', just an insidious political game

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