Sir James Crosby gives up knighthood and vindicates the Banking Commission

Well, that was inevitable. Sir James Crosby’s announcement that he wants to give his knighthood back and forego a slice of his pension is surprising only in that it came a little sooner after the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards’ report than everyone expected. He could have waited for a real public outcry to build, as it did with Fred Goodwin, but instead he’s managed to walk off with a pension that’s still £406,000 and perhaps a little dignity.

Fraser argued last week that politicians are the ones who should be squirming over the banking crisis, but what Crosby’s decision today shows is that the Banking Commission is wielding an impressive amount of power as it rumbles through its inquiries and reports. He didn’t wait for a slew of front pages: the report was published on Friday and the row subsumed by the death of Margaret Thatcher yesterday. It was the Commission wot done it.