The British government will tomorrow "accept in full" radical plans to shake up the banking industry despite fears the measures will harm the economy, UK Business Secretary Vince Cable said today.

BRITISH business secretary Vince Cable said UBS’s $2.3 billion (€1.68bn) unauthorised trading loss underlines the case for John Vickers’s plan to force banks to insulate their consumer units from their investment banking operations.

The London market watchdog has launched an investigation into why UBS failed to spot allegedly fraudulent trading which has cost the Swiss banking giant £1.3bn.

Britain’s biggest banks saw their shares fall today after a Government-appointed commission unveiled a far-reaching reform package set to cost the industry up to £7bn (€8.1bn) a year.

Irresponsible bankers who take unacceptable risks or mis-sell products to customers should be barred from the profession, UK opposition leader Ed Miliband said today.

BANKS may save about £10 billion (€11.38bn) in capital and other costs under proposals being considered by the Britain’s Independent Commission on Banking aimed at securing the financia lsystem against the collapse of a single lender, a person with knowledge of the plans said.

Breaking up Britain’s biggest banks would be a mistake and could hold the sector back from supporting economic growth, the CBI business group said today.

London's FTSE 100 Index shrugged off concerns in the banking sector today as a buoyant session on Wall Street helped blue chips make gains.

The issue of whether to break up Britain’s banks will be top of the agenda tomorrow when more details emerge of a Government-led inquiry.

UK MPs will today hear details of the shake-up of banking regulation announced by Chancellor George Osborne in a bid to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis.

A 43-year-old Dublin man was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to murdering his wife in the Central Criminal Court today.

Retailers Argos and Littlewoods vowed today to continue their fight against record fines for fixing the price of toys and games after an appeal in the UK found the penalties were fair.

THE British competition watchdog yesterday ordered a probe into rival takeover plans for the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

EVIDENCE of price-fixing by AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and Northern Bank in the North has been found by the British Office of Fair Trade (OFT).

A global alliance is needed to fight the growing tide of spam emails, the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said today.

Manchester United and the Football Association have been hit in the pocket for “fixing” the price of replica kits.

Many companies advertising goods for sale over the internet are breaching trading standards regulations, says the UK's Office of Fair Trading.