Umunna: Credit easing cannot be another damp squib

Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna expresses scepticism about the government's announced credit easing scheme:

"It has taken more than five months since the announcement of the Government’s credit easing scheme for ministers to come forward with details of how it will work and when it will be up and running.

"The key test of this credit easing scheme will be whether it gets finance to responsible, robust businesses who are currently unable to get credit, which they need to grow and expand.

"Over a year ago, the government announced its Project Merlin deal with great fanfare, promising that it would lead to an increase in lending and that bank CEO pay would be linked to lending targets. But instead, we saw targets missed and business as usual in bonus payouts. British business cannot afford another damp squib like Merlin."