Bank chief worry

DEBENHAMS chairman Sir Ian Cheshire has been picked by Barclays to chair its UK consumer bank – despite concerns over his role in the financial crisis.

Cheshire, 57, was a director of failed lender Bradford & Bingley, which collapsed at the start of the Great Recession. Previously chief executive of Kingfisher, owner of DIY chain B&Q, he will oversee Barclays’ small business and retail unit when it opens by the start of 2019.

The unit is being set up to comply with ringfencing rules to separate essential lending activity from risky investment operations.