Former head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Andrew Bailey has defended the delay to banning contingent charging.

What quality matters most to our clients? Whatever else comes along, no machine or tool will ever replace empathy and that's the quality that all of our clients seek.  

There is little doubt that in 2018 the FCA’s call centre was in a mess. Demoralised, poorly trained staff were inundated with a barrage of calls from consumers, some of them angry and abusive, even racist and homophobic.

Monday saw a grilling of Andrew Bailey, former CEO of the FCA, by Treasury Committee MPs regarding missed opportunities for the early detection of problems at the failed mini-bond provider London Capital & Finance.