Bank bonuses

The government has stepped back from its pledge to take "robust" action on City bonuses.

Banks are expected to sign up to a set of commitments to help small business with a development instead.

The backdown is likely to cause huge anger among members of the public, Liberal Democrat members of the coalition and the Labour party.

Nick Clegg and Vince Cable are understood to have pushed hard behind the scenes for a tougher deal for the banks.