Barclays boss asked to waive his bonus - The Sun

Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott said there was no way the chief executive could justify a reward of up to 2.5million as Barclays plunged into crisis.

Barclays confirmed it was the bank panned by the Treasury for avoiding corporation tax by buying back its own debt at cut-price rates last December.

Treasury officials closed the loophole on Monday.

They also outlawed an even more complex scheme that would have seen Barclays secure a tax credit by moving income around its balance sheet.

Barclays this month revealed annual profits of 5.9BILLION for 2011. At the time the bank admitted it paid a "relatively small amount" of corporation tax in the UK because most profits were from overseas.

It had signed a tax avoidance code in late 2010, and made being a good "corporate citizen" key to last year's strategy. The bonus for Mr Diamond on a 1.35million salary is revealed in days.

But Lord Oakeshott said: "Stephen Hester, chief executive at RBS, gave up his bonus after breaking a promise to lend more. 'Good citizen' Bob should give up his for having his hands in taxpayers' pockets." Exchequer Secretary David Gauke yesterday conceded Barclays had not broken any law but had "taken a substantial reputational hit".

Barclays last night insisted it took its "responsibilities as a corporate citizen very seriously". A spokeswoman said it had voluntarily disclosed the tax schemes to the HMRC. She added: "The treatment was both legal and compliant with the tax code."

Meanwhile, the Financial Ombudsman Service yesterday revealed that Barclays was the most complained about bank in the last six months of 2011 with 11,500 cases brought by consumers. A total of 84 per cent were upheld, compared with an industry average of 72 per cent.

Most complained about financial businesses with number of complaints 1. Barclays, 11,524, 2. MBNA Europe, 9,185, 3. Lloyds TSB, 7,467, 4. Bank of Scotland, 6,082, 5. Santander, 5,439, 6. Capital One (Europe), 5,375, 7. Black Horse, 5,252, 8. HSBC, 4,430, 9. NatWest, 2,737, 10. Nationwide, 2,513.

steve.hawkes@the-sun.co.uk