Vince Cable should be focusing his “moral outrage” on payday lenders like Wonga, as they are the "real Taliban bankers", a Tory MP has said.
Brooks Newmark, member of the Treasury Select Committee, hit out at the LibDem business secretary for accusing Bank of England officials of behaving like a “Capital Taliban” in restricting banks’ ability to lend to small businesses.
Newmark said the move was a sign of "cheap politics" and Cable should focus is "moral outrage" on payday lenders.
"Payday lenders such as Wonga are the real Taliban Bankers + Vince Cable should be focussing his moral outrage at them,” he tweeted at the Huffington Post UK.
"Payday lenders such as Wonga charging the poor over 1,000% are the real 'Capital Taliban'," he added.
Newmark's comments come as the Archbishop of Cantebury Justin Welby revealed he told Wonga of his plans to "compete" the firm out of existence.
"I've met the head of Wonga and we had a very good conversation and I said to him quite bluntly 'we're not in the business of trying to legislate you out of existence, we're trying to compete you out of existence,
' he said.
Wonga founder Errol Damelin said: "The Archbishop is clearly an exceptional individual and someone who understands the power of innovation.
"We discussed the future of banking and financial services, as well as our emerging digital society. There is mutual respect, some differing opinions and a meeting of minds on many big issues.
"On the competition point, we always welcome fresh approaches that give people a fuller set of alternatives to solve their financial challenges. I'm all for better consumer choice."