Joshua Rozenberg’s justification of Judge Cooke’s 14-year sentence on my son, Tom, for conspiracy to defraud (14 years in jail for Libor rigging? The judge makes a persuasive case, 4 August) may satisfy those who think there is no penalty too harsh for a banker. Thankfully many others have taken the opposite view: that this is a brutal punishment on a relatively lowly trader in obscure financial derivatives pegged to Japanese yen Libor, when the real architects of financial manipulation and skulduggery in Wall Street and the City remain untouched.

Clearly unfamiliar with the complexities of this case, Mr Rozenberg simply and uncritically reproduces the judge’s sentencing remarks in a circular argument that Sir Jeremy Cooke got it right. Perhaps in strict legal terms the 14-year tariff conforms to the guidelines for such cases. One could hardly expect otherwise from such a senior judge.

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Source: The Guardian Circular Economy RSS