Irons opens fire on bank bonuses

The actor Jeremy Irons appeared with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on BBC's The Andrew Marr Show yesterday.

Promoting his new film, Margin Call, in which he plays an investment bank boss at the height of the financial crisis, the actor was asked what changes he would like to see in the Government's economic policy. He said: "There are an awful lot of people hurting at the bottom of the chain and I think it's just bad manners... last years' bonuses were a slap in the face for a lot of people."

"Bad manners?" Mr Clegg replied. "That's far too polite."

Speaking about putting employee representatives on company remuneration committees, Mr Clegg said he expected Business Secretary Vince Cable to make an announcement on the issue in the next few days.

Irons responded: "We're asking the people who created this situation to sort it out. We need young people with new ideas to see how we can create a balanced economy in the future."