Prisoners of the market

All those hard pressed chief executives and bankers worried about the flack they have been receiving on pay and bonuses can sleep more easily in their beds this week after Stephen Hester, chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland gave them what must be the ultimate in justifications. There was nothing highly paid bankers could do about their pay levels, he told an House of Commons select committee, since their employers are "prisoners of the market".

Never again do wealthy executives have to feel cornered at dinner parties. All they need do from now on is throw up their hands and declare: "I'm a prisoner of the market." Case closed, move on.