"If the government has any courage, it will punish those at the top of failed banks. Accountability is critical in every area of human endeavour – there has to be a penalty for failure otherwise it's only a matter of time before the economic pain our banks have caused to so many innocent businesses and home owners is forgotten."

"The absolute, top priority ... is to get our economy going again, and nowhere more so than in the very small business sector."

"I envisage there being absolutely no regulation whatsoever—no minimum wage, no maternity or paternity rights, no unfair dismissal rights, no pension rights—for the smallest companies that are trying to get off the ground, in order to give them a chance."

"I wholeheartedly believe that same-sex couples have as valid a relationship with their partner as do heterosexuals. I also believe that in the eyes of the state we all deserve to be treated equally"

"But as I say, sterling has really not moved since the prime minister announced the starting gun for the referendum. So my best expectation, with my 30 years of financial experience, is that there will not be an economic impact."

"What is so weird about Tony [Blair] is that when he is speaking, it's almost hypnotic – you start to just accept what he is saying, and like Mowgli when he was being hypnotised by Kaa the python in Jungle Book, you have to kick yourself out of it."

"the UK cannot be trapped in a permanent customs arrangement"

"We are clear we won't be delaying Article 50. We won't be revoking it."

"I think it is right that government should have passed legislation that requires that relationships and sex education is taught in schools, but at the same time, I also agree that it is right that parents should be able to choose the moment at which their children become exposed to that information"

"I do not believe that we will be a truly sovereign United Kingdom through the deal that is now proposed"

"There will be no second referendums on my watch - not on Scottish independence and not on EU membership."

"You can’t block no deal. You can’t put into law that you can’t leave without a deal."

"In all circumstances we are leaving the European Union on 31 October"