Merkel treating Anglo tapes with 'contempt'

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has weighed in on the Anglo Irish Bank tapes controversy, saying such revelations are "damaging democracy".

Last night, Mrs Merkel said she regards the tapes, which were leaked to the press over the past week, with "contempt".

As EU leaders conducted press briefings to discuss agreement on the EU budget, the German Chancellor was asked for her reaction to the Anglo Irish Bank tapes, where a senior executive was heard singing Deutschland uber alles in a mocking tone while laughing about abusing the controversial bank guarantee.

Mrs Merkel said she holds the comments with "contempt", and that they were "damaging to democracy, social market economics and everything we strive for".

She made reference to the impact that the EU’s banking crisis has had on the average taxpayer, saying these tapes make it even harder to persuade normal people to continue in such vein.