It strikes me that the current financial crisis is a direct result of lax controls over financial institutions over a number of years. The orgy of asset stripping of public and mutually owned businesses in the 1990s, sold to us all as privatisation for the common good turned out to be nothing of the sort. It has now left this country’s economy in a weaker situation than otherwise it would have been.

Successive governments have encouraged and sometimes forced through deregulation for the sake of it to satisfy the demands of bankers and others who have proved unfit to be trusted. The leader of the Scottish Nationalists has rightly called them a band of spivs and speculators.

While the US government seems to have grasped the seriousness of the situation and is taking appropriate action in the UK there appears to be an air of indifference to the whole thing. Strange until you realise the two major political parties are responsible for and still committed to the system which is on the brink of collapse.

More worrying is the close links between some of them and the hedge fund managers responsible for the current run on our banks. As reported in today’s Observer a small group of city financiers who have made fortunes from falling stock market prices are paying at least £50,000 a year to the Conservative party. These donations entitle them to buy privileged access to Tory leader David Cameron

Commenting on the donations Lord Oakeshott, Lib Dem Treasury spokesman said “We see the same hedge fund wolf packs that brought HBOS to its knees are bankrolling the Tory party. No wonder David Cameron and George Osborne wouldn’t condemn short selling or the hedge funds’ disgraceful behaviour.”

Full details of the Tory party’s link to the hedge funds are to be revealed a Dispatches program to be broadcast by Channel 4 tomorrow.