Barclays chief resigns over Libor scandal

Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has put in his papers a week after the lender was fined a record amount for attempted manipulation of inter-bank lending rates.

According to BBC business editor Robert Peston, he was encouraged to go by the heads of the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Diamond attributed external pressure on the bank that risked "damaging the franchise" as the reason for his stepping down. Chief operating officer Jerry del Missier also followed suit, the third top executive in two days to do so.

Barclays chairman Marcus Agius, who had announced his own resignation yesterday, would now take over and run the show at Barclays pending the appointment of a new chief executive.

Earlier, Lord Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, described the outrage that has built up over the bank's actions.

"The cynical greed of traders asking their colleagues to falsify their Libor submissions so that they could make bigger profits - has justifiably shocked and angered people, in particular when we are facing hard economic times provoked by the financial crisis," he told the Financial Services Authority's annual meeting.