The City spivs stand there with their begging bowls asking for compassion.

What government has ever shown compassion to miners, printers, the shipbuilders, the steelworkers or the fishermen?

Capitalism was never meant to be a casino. This was once a country where people built things and made things. A country where you sold your skill or provided a service, Brunel, the most famous one of all time.

With the arrival of Thatcher, she proclaimed that jobs where people got their hands dirty were old-fashioned and that the financial sector would generate the money we needed to pay our way. New Labour went along with it. It has not worked, though Tony and Cherie Blair have done okay.

That kind of casino capitalism, a culture of unfettered and unapologetic greed, has brought us to this wretched point.

The original spiv was the comedian Arthur English, whose famous caption at the end of his act was: 'Mum, mum, they're laughing at me again. I'm in a cage, open the door and let me out of here'.

The spivs of Wall Street and the city who dragged us this low are criminals. They are as guilty as a drunk driver or a mugger.

I cannot tell the difference between the unemployed banker and that Afghan woman who is in the news because she receives £170,000 a year in benefits.

This country is on its knees because of leeches like these.

Now and again there comes a bit of fresh air like the late Paul Newman, actor. In 1982 he set up his own food line and what did he do with its profits? Gave them to charity, starting a foundation for seriously ill kids with £160m (take note Firoz Kassam).

He will also be remembered for his quote about affairs with other women: 'Why mess about with hamburgers when you've got steak at home'.

Frederick Carter, Vicarage Road, Oxford