HBOS whistleblower was ousted

A WHISTLEBLOWER who raised alarm bells over a £1bn bank fraud was forced out by Lloyds, a police commissioner has said.

Thames Valley Police took on a gang of rogue financiers who wrecked small companies for profits they spent on holidays and prostitutes.

The crooks worked out of the Reading branch of HBOS, which was bought by Lloyds.

The force’s commissioner Anthony Stansfeld said a Lloyds employee wrote a report in 2013 detailing what happened. ‘The whistleblower was made redundant, was not properly compensated, and the Financial Conduct Authority has done nothing to support or protect her.’

Stansfeld called for the Treasury to give police £300m a year to set up regional offices to deal with such crimes. The FCA declined to comment on Stansfeld’s claims.