Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after Barclays boss Bob Diamond accepted a large bonus despite ongoing opposition to bankers and their bonuses from journalists and politicians.

Last year the bosses of each of the "big four" banks said that they would be effectively waiving their rights to a bonus. Yesterday however it was announced that Mr Diamond would be accepting a £6.5 million bonus.

Earlier this year Mr Diamond told politicians that the time for retribution against bankers should finish and focus should instead be turned towards recovery. His comments were not universally welcomed by the press or politicians, however the negative reaction appears not to have deterred Mr Diamond from making a return to business as usual.

By 10:30 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were up 1.02 per cent to 61.63 pence per share, RBS shares climbed 0.32 per cent to 43.91 pence per share and HSBC shares rose 1.38 per cent to 666.60 pence per share.

However Barclays saw its shares decline 0.42 per cent to 306.65 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was up 0.02 per cent to 5,974.87.

Barclays HSBC FTSE