UK plans to scrap automatic bonuses for bankers

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND: British Treasury chief Alistair Darling says he'll outlaw automatic annual bonuses for bankers to curb excessive risk-taking in the county's financial sector.

Darling told the governing Labour Party's annual conference on Monday that new legislation will be put to Parliament to scrap the payments.

He says bankers will be offered bonuses in the future for their performance over several years, rather than over 12 months.

Darling told the conference that Britain's economy has not yet recovered from the financial crisis, but is likely to come out of recession by the end of the year.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party hopes an economic recovery could help it win Britain's next national election. Brown must call an election by June 2010.