David Cameron today launched a full parliamentary inquiry into the rate-rigging scandal amid a wave of criticism of British banking.

A petition calling for British government help for nearly 10,000 investors who have lost millions in the collapse of the Presbyterian Mutual Society will be formally presented in the House of Commons today.

There were hopes that the global credit crunch which sparked the bank run on the Northern Rock would begin to ease today after a bigger-than-expected cut in interest rates in the US.

A row blew up today between the AA and a leading trade union in the UK after claims that the motoring organisation had been “starved” of investment by its private equity owners.