Are Barclay's profits moral

Barclays are proud of being one of the banks that didn't go running to the government to borrow back in autumn of 2008.

Instead they went to Middle Eastern backers.Today they have announced massive increases in profits up 92 per cent at £11.6b

As with last year its top people have rejected bonus payments but nevertheless it will pay £1.5bn in bonuses for 2009 and a further £1.2bn are to be paid over three years.

Critics argue though that these profits are only the result of the government's general guarantees to the banking sector.If other banks had collapsed then Barclay's would have gone as well.

How moral are these profits and bonuses?

Vince Cable has already been on air making the very point and with this morning's news that the banking sector is still not lending at appropriate rates to the commercial sector,he called for the bank to be broken up into separate investment and commercial banks, and to pay a fee for the government guarantee it has enjoyed since the start of the financial crisis.