Tracey McDermott: City watchdog ‘not delighted’ at how George Osborne announced her exit

Tracey McDermott has been at the City watchdog for the past 15 years

Interim head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Tracey McDermott

The acting chief executive of the City watchdog admitted she was angry with the Chancellor earlier this month when he accidentally blurted out in a radio interview that she had ruled herself out of taking the position on a permanent basis.

George Osborne told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Tracey McDermott, boss of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), had removed herself from the list of candidates. “It [the announcement] rather threw the day’s plans. I wasn’t exactly delighted about it, but these things happen,” Ms McDermott told MPs on the Treasury Select Comittee. “I was not listening to the interview, but I heard about it pretty quickly afterwards.”

John Griffith-Jones, the FCA’s chairman, said that he was in his dentist’s chair when he heard the 8am interview: “I’ve never got out of it so quickly.”

The FCA is searching for a successor to its former boss, Martin Wheatley, after Mr Osborne decided not to review his contract last July.

Ms McDermott said she formally withdraw from the application on 9 December after informing Mr Griffith-Jones a week earlier.

Mr Osborne told the BBC: “[The FCA] needs new leadership to take it into its more mature phase. We are looking for the best candidate. To be fair, there’s a very effective interim leader in Tracey McDermott, but she doesn’t want the job full-time.”

Mr Osborne, who will have the final say on the appointment, is reported to have sounded out Greg Medcraft, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, about taking on the job.