"It seems the witness is himself a bit of a rough Diamond. He certainly conveyed the impression that he is a tough Diamond, who is not going to be bounced into giving up a bonus he has not even been awarded yet.
When John Mann (Lab, Bassetlaw) suggested Mr Diamond “will agree to take no bonus this year”, the witness retorted: “I’ll take that decision with my family as I did last year.”
Mr Mann, to whom grandstanding comes as easily as quacking to a duck, persisted in his attack, leading Mr Diamond to observe in a dry tone, and to general laughter: “You’re not a big fan of Barclays, are you.”
That prompted Mr Mann to repeat a question that had already baffled Mr Diamond, but which ranged wider than banking practices in the early 21st century: “Why is it easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven?”
Mr Diamond replied, “I’m still stuck on that one”, while Andrew Tyrie (C, Chichester), the committee’s chairman, remarked: “People have been stuck on that for 2,000 years."
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