British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has admitted that - as Chancellor - he was not tough enough in regulating the banks.
In a TV interview to be broadcast tonight, Mr Brown cites his failure to impose tighter regulation before the financial crash as one of his biggest mistakes.
Today the Liberal Democrats launched their general election manifesto, with opinion polls suggesting neither the Conservatives nor Labour will get an overall majority.
With the opinion polls suggesting that a hung parliament is a real possibility, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has been urging voters to end what he called the Labour-Conservative stitch-up which has dominated British politics since the end of WWII.
But Mr Clegg insisted this morning that he was campaigning to become prime minister rather than hold the balance of power.
Throughout this campaign he has declined to say whether he would co-operate with Labour or the Conservatives in the event of a hung parliament.
Referring to the TV interview by Gordon Brown to be broadcast tonight, Liberal Democrats Treasury Spokesman Vince Cable said it was not enough for Mr Brown to say sorry for failing to regulate the financial sector.
He added that any future British government must have a plan to ensure taxpayers are never again held to ransom by the banks.
The Liberal Democrats are also railing against the ‘surveillance state’ in the UK.
The party said it would stop councils from spying on people and prevent children from being fingerprinted at school without their parents' permission.
Innocent people would be removed from the DNA database, intrusive identity cards abandoned and unnecessary monitoring of email and internet records halted.
In a move to give more power to local communities, people should be given a say on how 'petty' criminals are punished through the establishment of Neighbourhood Justice Panels.
There would also be a focus on border control, with exit checks brought in at all ports and airports and police powers given to a National Border Force.
The election will be held on 6 May.
