It’s time to stop bashing the bankers, according to Simon Lynch, managing director of finance staffing specialist Ambition UK.

Government data shows City’s workers contributed £11bn to the public purse last year through income tax and national insurance.

Simon Lynch, managing director of Ambition UK, says: “The City has received a torrent of abuse over the past three years but it’s time people woke up to how valuable a contribution its workers make to the public purse.

“Not everyone in the Square Mile works in a bank or walks away with a multi-million pound bonus. City workers come from an array of industries from law to accountancy, property to marketing and the amount they pay in tax goes a long way to help fund critical parts of the government’s expenditure.

“What’s more, £11bn doesn’t even come close to the overall sum the City pays in tax. Corporation tax, the levy on bonus pots and employers’ NI add a significant amount to the total haul the treasury receives.”