Political and public pressure has already resulted in RBS chiefs Stephen Hester and Sir Philip Hampton forgoing £1m bonuses and it is clear the UK Government would like to see similar restraint from Barclays.

Yesterday, in an interview with The Herald, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, noted there was a distinction between RBS, 82% owned by the taxpayer, and Barclays, a private bank. However, he emphasised that Mr Diamond and his colleagues "need to remember, until the Vickers reforms are in place, they are ultimately dependent on a taxpayer guarantee and that should form part of their thinking".

Today, Barclays will also face a customer revolt as account holders will close their accounts with the bank in support of the Move Your Money campaign, which encourages people to move their money from big banks to credit unions, building societies and so-called ethical banks.