Boris Johnson and George Osborne unite to warn City: Stop big bonuses

Shadow chancellor George Osborne and Mayor Boris Johnson have told banking chiefs they should not expect an easy ride under a Tory government. At a high-level meeting, they said they would not put up with "business as usual" should they win the election.

The shadow chancellor and Mayor want the financial institutions to heed public anger and act "more responsibly" over massive bonuses.

It is the first time the two have shown such a united front on the issue and comes after apparent differences.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly banged the drum for the City while Mr Osborne has been robust in his criticism.

At the Canary Wharf meeting, the Tory duo spelled out how they were committed to protecting the competitiveness of the industry but expected the banks to give something back.

They were joined around the table yesterday by the London and European heads of Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP Morgan, HSBC and Deutsche Bank, UBS, Bank of America, BNP Paribas and Nomura.

The meeting, hosted by law firm Clifford Chance, included Credit Suisse, which announced today it will slash the bonuses of top investment bankers to help pay the bonus super-tax.

A Tory source at the meeting told the Standard today: "The banks are kidding themselves that all they need to do is batten down the hatches and carry on as usual until they get a Conservative government. If they expect a new Conservative government to fight their corner it would help if they're not in such a place where every politician who tries to defend them ends up in the position that Boris did. They told them that unless they showed some restraint and responsibility then they'll deserve everything they get."

This week, Mr Johnson wrote to the global head of the banks calling on them to scale back "excessive" bonuses.

Mr Osborne, who provoked City fury last year when he called for a clampdown on big bonuses, suggested the banks could improve their public standing if they demonstrated their commitment to the rest of society. "Boris and I also present a united front when we say: large cash bonuses are unacceptable at this difficult time. Bankers need to show they understand that we are all in this together," he said.

A City Hall source added: "They told them: You can do it the Millwall FC way of saying No one likes us but we don't care', or we can do it in a more constructive way'."