As it is, the FSA's craven inaction represents the ultimate failure of self-regulation, and is final proof that the City cannot be allowed to govern itself any longer. The DTI may puff up its chest and make macho noises about banning the Maxwell brothers from directorships, but its bravado will be exposed when the pair hire the best lawyers in town to fight the bans, as they have promised. Anyway, neither seriously intends to join a mainstream British plc board again, being quite happy to run their operations from places like Bermuda and Russia. The DTI joins the guilty list in another sense. By publishing now, Stephen Byers has helped ensure that the lessons of Maxwell will not be learnt.
Nobody emerges with any credit.
But in the long run, the City will suffer most damage. If nobody carries the can, it will be shown to be what its critics always allege - a casino where the odds are stacked, the tables rigged, and the punters fleeced.