The Rev Dr Richard Higginson at St Paul’s Church Picture: DAVID FERGUSON (00946862)

THE banking crisis could have been less severe if there were more Christian ethics and values in business, a visiting professor has said.

The Rev Dr Richard Higginson is a lecturer in Christian ethics and director of faith in business at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and he gave various lectures to Islanders this week.

At those events, including one on Wednesday night at St Paul’s Church, Mr Higginson said that businesses – and banks in particular – should be adopting a more ‘Christian’ way of doing things.

He also said that the difference between what some executives were being paid compared to their workers on the ground was far too much, citing the earnings of Tesco’s chief executive Sir Terry Leahy as an example. Some executive bonuses were also excessive, he added.

Mr Higginson was invited to the Island by the St Paul’s School of Theology and he said that his work was very relevant to Jersey where there was a ‘lively Christian business community’.