MPs have demanded ‘higher standards’ of accounting for banks as part of the government’s multi-billion pound rescue package.

Harry Cohen, a Labour backbencher, CIPFA member and former public sector accountant, tabled a motion in the House of Commons yesterday calling for a crackdown and that ‘proper accounting and transparency must apply to all banks and financial institutions’.

The MP said an improvement must apply whether were taking advantage of the government’s bail or not and his motion insisted that all banks ‘must nevertheless be required to comply with higher standards of accounting and transparency of their activities overall.’

The motion was co-signed by Lib Dem MPs Andrew George and Bob Russell and follows remarks in the House of Commons on Monday by former Labour minister Michael Meacher protesting over ‘dodgy auditing’ in the banking sector.

The attacks follow earlier criticism from Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable after Northern rock was nationalised and sees politicians stepping up the pressure on the profession and its practices.