Alistair Darling admits bankers' bonus supertax failed

Former chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted his supertax on bankers' bonuses failed to hit home and is unlikely to be repeated, it emerged today.

He said those targeted by the 50% tax, payable by employers on bonuses over £25,000, were too easily able to avoid it.

The Financial Times reported that Mr Darling told a financial services conference yesterday: "I think it will be a one-off thing because, frankly, the very people you are after here are very good at getting out of these things and ... will find all sorts of imaginative ways of avoiding it in the future."

The FT said Mr Darling told the meeting, sponsored by Japanese investment bank Nomura, that he had wanted to send a message to the bankers "that we all live in the same world together".