Del Missier to face MPs' questions

The former right-hand man to Bob Diamond who told staff at Barclays to lower their interest rate submissions following a misunderstanding with the Bank of England will give evidence to MPs next week.

Canadian Jerry del Missier, who resigned as Barclays chief operating officer after Mr Diamond quit as chief executive, will appear before the Treasury Select Committee on Monday afternoon to answer questions on the Libor-fixing scandal.

The chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Lord Adair Turner will appear on the same day.

Mr del Missier was dragged into the affair when it emerged he had misinterpreted a conversation between Mr Diamond and Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker as an instruction to lower Libor submissions amid fears over Barclays' financial health.

The announcement comes after Mr Diamond hit back at suggestions that he misled MPs over regulators' concerns about activities at the embattled bank.

Mr Diamond, who will walk away with a year's salary and pension cash contribution worth £2 million after waiving a potential £20 million in deferred shares, rejected claims that he was "less than candid" when he appeared before the committee last week.

The rejection came in a letter to committee chairman Andrew Tyrie sent following an evidence session with Barclays chairman Marcus Agius on Tuesday.

During the hearing, Mr Agius - who has signalled he will step down after a replacement for Mr Diamond is found - admitted Barclays' relationship with the FSA was "strained".

The committee cited an FSA letter sent to Barclays that raised concerns about "a pattern of behaviour" in which the bank sought to gain advantage through the use of complex structures which are "at the aggressive end of interpretation of the relevant rules and regulations".

Mr Tyrie and other members insisted the evidence contradicted what they heard from Mr Diamond, who denied knowing that regulators were concerned, and suggested that his presentation of what happened "was quite a long way away from what really happened". The FSA also investigated Mr del Missier personally in relation to the events and closed the investigation without any enforcement action.