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Barclays boss Bob Diamond flees in escape pod

Greed News: The chief executive of Barclays, Bob Diamond, fled the country last night after climbing into his personal escape pod and launching out the side of the company’s HQ.

Diamond – who is facing intense pressure to quit over the banks manipulation of key interest rates – reportedly activated the escape pod by tilting a statue of former Chancellor Nigel Lawson on his desk.

A bookshelf then slid back to reveal the hatch to the escape pod, which Diamond unlocked using a retina scan. He then climbed inside the pod, which launched out of a shaft built into the side of the Barclays HQ. His current whereabouts are unknown.

“It’s yet another demonstration of the culture of greed in banking,” said a spokesman from the Financial Services Authority.

“If these bosses didn’t get millions in bonuses they might have some sense of morality. They certainly wouldn’t have enough money to install a state-of-the-art escape pod in their corporate headquarters.”

Story+Image: Simon Swatman