What the Dickens! My ancestor would be ashamed of bankers

The great-great grandson of Charles Dickens believes the message of A Christmas Carol still holds true for today's bonus-rich bankers.

Gerald Dickens said his ancestor, who wrote A Christmas Carol 166 years ago as an indictment of industrial capitalism, would be shocked by bankers with bonuses living alongside abject poverty in modern-day Britain.

Mr Dickens, 46, an actor, said Britons have not learned the moral message of the book. He said: "The fact the same issues are just as prevalent now rather shows we have not learned from the story. There are still massive problems of homelessness and a huge divide between rich and poor.

"Look at the whole issue of bankers. Bonuses, it sums up A Christmas Carol in a nutshell. My great-great grandfather would have been frustrated and would not have stopped until he had seen something done about it."