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Yesterday (4 April 2013) UK’s Chancellor, George Osborne asked: Why should the taxpayer fund 'lifestyles' like those of the Philpotts? He said that it was now time for Government and society to "question" whether it was appropriate for "lifestyles" such as Philpott's to be funded by the taxpayer.

I agree. Those who abuse the system and steal from it, must be identified, shamed and punished.

However, in order to be consistent, fair, and just, I believe that Mr. Osborne must now answer the following question too:

Why should the taxpayer fund 'lifestyles' like those of the Sir James Crosby, Andy Hornby, and Lord Stevenson?

*The bank, formed out of Bank of Scotland and Halifax in 2001, racked up £47bn of losses on bad loans

*Such losses would have led to insolvency, had the bank not been bailed out by the taxpayer and Lloyds TSB, the commission claimed

*Banking standards commission chair Andrew Tyrie says there was "a colossal failure of leadership"

*The report, called An Accident Waiting to Happen, said that £20.5bn of public money went into the rescue of HBOS before and after its merger with Lloyds

*Crosby sold two-thirds of his shares just before the banking crisis hit and the bottom fell out of share prices

*Crosby has retained his knighthood and his £570,000 annual pension

*Crosby is now an adviser to Bridgepoint, a private equity business, but that role does not require authorisation

*Stevenson, a crossbench peer who has been employed by governments to conduct a series of high-profile reports, now works for a number of charities

*Hornby, who took over as chief executive from Crosby and was regarded as the business wunderkind of his generation, is now boss of bookmakers Coral

*The report is scathing about Stevenson, who in his evidence had insisted he was not to blame because he was only "part time", despite earning £735,000 a year and insisting to regulators at the time that he was fully engaged at the bank. Stevenson was "incapable of facing the realities of what placed the bank in jeopardy from that time until now"

Who said Crime Doesn’t Pay?

“Hundreds of millionaires working in Britain's banks will save an average of almost £54,000 when the top rate of tax is cut this weekend, according to figures compiled by the Labour party. The changes mean that 643 bankers, each earning more than £1m, could get a combined tax cut worth at least £34.6m”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/apr/05/hundreds-bankers-save-tax-cut

Andrew Tyrie on HBOS: 'A colossal failure of leadership'

Watch the Video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22038277

HBOS: Regulator's findings shame three executives who brought down a bank

Bank so poorly run it would have gone bust even without 2008 crash, parliamentary commission finds

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/apr/04/bankers-brought-down-hbos

Carrying on banking: HBOS- The Ealing comedy of our time

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-22037950

Analysis: George Osborne's Philpott gamble

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22042399

Mick Philpott case: Danny Alexander rejects George Osborne's remarks

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22041787