HSBC exec slams ‘weak’ UK for siding with US against China, drawing backlash from MPs

HSBC Holdings drew criticism from British lawmakers after its head of public affairs accused the UK government of being “weak” by following US policy on China.

Sherard Cowper-Coles told a private event in London in June that the UK would often bow to the demands of Washington and had been strong-armed into cutting back business dealings with China.

He apologised for “any offence caused” in a statement that said his were “personal comments”. The bank reiterated in its own statement that the comments were his personal views.

Nevertheless, two China critics in the UK’s governing Conservative Party – who have both been sanctioned by the Asian nation – slammed the London-listed bank, Europe’s largest.

Former Tory Party leader Iain Duncan Smith said HSBC “have an awful lot to answer for”, while fellow backbencher Tim Loughton branded the lender an “apologist” for the Chinese government.

“Perhaps HSBC should get on with putting their own house in order before criticising others, not least when their actions over the last two years suggest their willingness to act first in the interests of an autocratic communist state,” said Alicia Kearns, chair of the UK Parliament’s foreign affairs select committee.