Following Libor interest fixing scandal in London, MEPs tackle a culture of market manipulation by banks with proposals for punitive fines and long prison terms.

Fightback against market abuse

The fixing of key inter-bank interest rates,  known as Libor by banks in London,

caused outrage and renewed effort  to constrain a financial sector

that seems incapable of regulating itself.

including five-year minimum prison terms,  are to be voted on.

We sought the views of two MEPs  close to the process:

Arlene McCarthy,  steering it through Parliament,

and Olle Schmidt, member  of a key economics committee.

We'll only change the culture we've seen  in the financial services industry

if people go to jail for what  we consider to be criminal activity.

Even I, as a liberal, realise  that we have to do something.

If industry, business,  cannot do it themselves...

and we need trust from the citizens  in the market, therefore we have to act.

making sure we've competition as industry.  That we think will change the practices.

It's harder to defend the banks today,  I admit that,

but I still defend that a deregulated market  in more general terms,

not in this case but in more general terms,

I would say that it actually is impeding  and holding back recovery

because we have a loss of integrity,  a loss of trust, a loss of confidence

and that in the market now  is one of the biggest factors

why we're not getting back on track  in terms of growth and prosperity.

Get your act together  because you need the trust,