THE disgraced former chief of BARCLAYS has incredibly claimed that he did not go into banking “for the money”. In his first interview since quitting last year, Bob Diamond, worth an estimated £105MILLION, said: “I never set money as a goal. It was a result.” He added: “The only car I own, honestly, is an 11-year-old Jeep. “We don’t have a boat, we don’t have fancy cars. I think we have lived well, but it hasn’t been about accumulation.” In the wake of the claims, Lib Dem peer Matthew Oakeshott last night said Diamond “simply has no shame”. The American, 61 — who owns a £24million apartment in New York — also claimed that until the Libor scandal hit last year, he had no idea how the key overnight rate was even set. He said: “If you asked me who at Barclays submitted the rate every day, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. “I bet you if you asked every chief executive of any bank on the street they would give you the same answer.” The New York Times interview is the first by the banker since he was forced out of Barclays last summer by Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King. It is certain to infuriate politicians who claim Diamond is the poster child of all that went wrong with investment or “casino” banking. He became infamous for trousering huge bonuses — in 2011 alone he made £17million in pay, shares and perks. He was eventually forced out of the investment bank after Barclays was fined £290million for Libor fiddling by its traders. At the time his daughter Nell controversially tweeted that Chancellor George Osborne and Labour leader Ed Miliband could “go ahead and HMD” — an insult that means “hold my d***”. Diamond claims he initially believed the governor did not have the “authority” to force him out — but after speaking to his wife Jennifer, he concluded: “What’s the best thing I can do for the firm? Step aside and shut up.”

THIS is the moment desperate Sharon Rickman is forced to confess she is taking dangerous painkillers again.

The dramatic scenes come as Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) stumbles across a secret stash of the drugs which Sharon (Letitia Dean) has tried to hide from her.

Viewers will see Shazza try to convince Lola that she isn’t addicted to the tablets in tonight’s episode of the BBC1 soap (8pm).

But her defence is ripped apart when Lola goes to throw the tablets away and Sharon violently wrenches the pills back, spilling the contents on to the floor. And as she scrabbles around on her hands and knees to rescue the drugs, teen mum Lola leaves her in no doubt that she plans to tell her boyfriend Phil (Steve McFadden) the truth about her crippling addiction.

Lola explains she is worried for her daughter Lexi’s safety while she is living with the pair.

But she has to make an agonising choice when Sharon warns her that by spilling the beans she will risk Lexi being take back into care.

Will Lola be frightened enough into covering up for Sharon?

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/4913039/Sharon-has-EastEnders-drug-meltdown.html#ixzz2SFthvWEV