When Mervyn King embarked on his evidence to the Commons Treasury committee on Wednesday, he had the perfect opportunity to consign to the dustbin all the press reports and gossip among officials about disagreements between the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury.

He insisted that he had no problem working with Alistair Darling, the chancellor, and stressed that the three bodies were in broad agreement over proposals for macro-prudential regulation – the idea that, in future, banking regulation will seek to prevent an unsustainable expansion of credit and ensure that when institutions fail, it will be an orderly process.