Lehman Brothers staff could enjoy bonuses worth more than a billion pounds despite the investment bank's collapse.

The rewards lined up for U.S. workers caused fury in London, where thousands of employees are facing a bleak future after Lehman filed for bankruptcy.

Administrators winding up Lehman's European business have discovered £4.4billion was transferred to New York just before the bank collapsed.

PricewaterhouseCoopers want the money to be returned - a call which was backed by Gordon Brown.

The blockbuster bonuses for U.S. staff were secured after UK lender Barclays snapped up Lehman's American operations and took on 10,000 employees.

As part of the deal, a $2.5billion (£1.4billion) bonus pot was ringfenced to reward the U.S. workers.

The agreement was greeted with incredulity on this side of the Atlantic given the disastrous consequences of Lehman's speculation on 'toxic' debt.

Full article here