This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8618974.stm

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Brown admits mistake over banks Brown admits mistake over banks
(about 3 hours later)
Gordon Brown has admitted he made a mistake in not introducing tougher bank regulation when he was chancellor.Gordon Brown has admitted he made a mistake in not introducing tougher bank regulation when he was chancellor.
The prime minister, who was chancellor from 1997 to 2007, said that in the 1990s the banks had all been calling for less regulation. The PM - chancellor from 1997 to 2007 -said that in the 1990s the banks had all been calling for less regulation.
"And actually the truth is that globally and nationally we should have been regulating them more," he said in an interview on ITV1's Tonight."And actually the truth is that globally and nationally we should have been regulating them more," he said in an interview on ITV1's Tonight.
He said he should have put the "whole public interest" before the banks. He said he should have put the "whole public interest" before the banks but had "learnt" from the experience.
'Complaints''Complaints'
Mr Brown said he had "learnt" from the experience. Mr Brown said: "In the 1990s, the banks, they all came to us and said, 'Look, we don't want to be regulated, we want to be free of regulation'."
"In the 1990s, the banks, they all came to us and said, 'Look, we don't want to be regulated, we want to be free of regulation'," said Mr Brown.
"All the complaints I was getting from people was, 'Look you're regulating them too much'. And actually the truth is that globally and nationally we should have been regulating them more," he added."All the complaints I was getting from people was, 'Look you're regulating them too much'. And actually the truth is that globally and nationally we should have been regulating them more," he added.
"So I've learnt from that. So you don't listen to the industry when they say, 'This is good for us'. You've got to talk about the whole public interest.""So I've learnt from that. So you don't listen to the industry when they say, 'This is good for us'. You've got to talk about the whole public interest."
Mr Brown also admitted, as he has done previously, that the decision to scrap the 10 pence rate of tax had been a mistake.Mr Brown also admitted, as he has done previously, that the decision to scrap the 10 pence rate of tax had been a mistake.
He said: "I've learnt a lot from that, I learn all the time."He said: "I've learnt a lot from that, I learn all the time."