MPs have accused bosses of HSBC of being ‘utterly incompetent’ and ducking responsibility for the Swiss tax dodging scandal. Chris Meares, who ran HSBC’s global private banking arm between 2006 and 2011, told the Public Accounts Committee he was not aware of alleged tax evasion taking place on his watch. Asked repeatedly whether he accepted personal responsibility for the scandal, he said he took responsibility for ‘controls failings’ which allowed the wrongdoing to occur. But he added: ‘I do not take fairly direct responsibility for individual actions of people in Switzerland that I was unaware of.' Scroll down for video . Chris Meares, who ran HSBC’s global private banking arm between 2006 and 2011, told the Public Accounts Committee he was not aware of alleged tax evasion taking place on his watch . Chief executive Stuart Gulliver and HSBC board director Rona Fairhead also angered MPs by insisting they were oblivious to the wrongdoing in Switzerland, where staff allegedly helped wealthy clients including arms dealers and a blood diamond smuggler evade taxes between 2005 and 2007. The committee’s chairman Margaret Hodge, a Labour MP, said: ‘Nobody at the bank... has deigned to accept responsibility for what was massive, illegal terrible tax evasion.’ She added: ‘Either you were incompetent, completely and utterly incompetent, in your oversight duties or you knew about it… I don’t believe you did not know.’ Her fellow committee members also expressed disbelief that HSBC’s bosses in London were unaware of what was happening in Switzerland. Conservative MP David Burrows said: ‘You are asking us to accept that Switzerland was off on a frolic on its own - that nobody in London knew what was going on’. He added: ‘I cannot believe that nobody knew the unlawful actions that were taking place in Switzerland, and if they didn’t know then they jolly well should have done. ‘What we’ve essentially got is blind eye knowledge – holding the telescope to the blind eye so that you in London didn’t see what you suspected was going on in Switzerland.’ Question time: MPs accused BBC Trust chairman Rona Fairhead as either being aware of wrongdoing or being 'utterly incompetent' HSBC’s chairman Douglas Flint has already heaped blame on Mr Meares and his predecessor Clive Bannister, the son of four-minute mile legend Sir Roger Bannister, who now runs insurance company Phoenix. Mr Flint told the Treasury Select Committee last month that the two men ‘certainly bear fairly direct responsibility’. Yesterday, Mr Meares - who is now chairman of fund manager Quilter Cheviot - rejected claims that he was being made the ‘fall guy’ by HSBC. But he was described as a ‘wholly unreliable witness’ by Conservative MP Stephen Hammond.
Former HSBC private banking boss said he was unaware of tax evasion . Chief executive Stuart Gulliver and Rona Fairhead also angered MPs . BBC Trust chairman was either 'incompetent' or aware of wrongdoing .