Heads must roll, urges union chief

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The GMB said workers were not prepared to see bankers receive huge bonuses, paid for by the taxpayer, while pay rises for public sector staff have been kept below the rate of inflation this year.

Giving millions of public sector workers, including nurses and teachers, a pay rise to keep pace with inflation would have cost just £1.5 billion - a fraction of the banking bail-out, said general secretary Paul Kenny.

"Business as usual is now over for the City elite that organised this disaster.

"They will have to get used to living on normal incomes and paying their taxes now that the taxpayer is propping them up and calling the tune as a result," he said.

Mr Kenny said the Government had no alternative but to bail out the banks to keep the financial sector afloat but he added: "The old saying now applies with a vengeance - he who pays the piper, calls the tune.

"GMB members who are paying the piper want to see swift action to ensure that the bankers responsible for the crisis are held accountable and dealt with.

"GMB members will want to see bankers' heads roll."

The GMB was highly critical of the role of Barclays Bank in organising a huge loan to a private equity firm which took over the AA motoring organisation.

John Cridland, deputy director general of the country's biggest business group the CBI, said the Government's announcement would herald the first step on the road to financial recovery.