The claim that "many people protest that the bankers crashed the global economy" is an accurate description of widespread public sentiment and protest activity from 2008 through 2011, as of the interview date of December 2, 2011. Key evidence: 1. **2008 bailout protests**: In September 2008, thousands of people across more than 190 U.S. cities protested against the bank bailout, explicitly blaming Wall Street firms for "ruining the economy" (Common Dreams, The Nation). 2. **G20 London protests (April 2009)**: Around 4,000 protesters clashed with police in London's financial district, with banners reading "Eat the bankers" and "Banks are evil." CBS News reported: "The demonstrators were here to hold to account the bankers who they believed broke it." Protesters targeted the Royal Bank of Scotland, which had been bailed out. 3. **Occupy Wall Street (September–November 2011)**: The most prominent protest movement active right around the time of this interview. Britannica notes it was "centred in New York City" and that "Public resentment for the upheaval developed toward the United States' financial sector, whose leaders not only bore some responsibility for the crisis but largely escaped criminal charges." The movement explicitly blamed Wall Street for causing the financial crisis. The Guardian reported protests across 45 states in October 2011, with President Obama acknowledging "the frustrations the American people feel about the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression." 4. **Paul Krugman in the New York Times (October 2011)**: "The protesters' indictment of Wall Street as a destructive force, economically and politically, is completely right." The Occupy movement's global spread — including Occupy London, directly relevant to a UK interview — further confirms this was a widespread phenomenon by late 2011. Sources: - Common Dreams, "National Protests Erupt Over Bailout Plan" (Sept 26, 2008): https://www.commondreams.org/news/2008/09/26/national-protests-erupt-over-bailout-plan - CBS News, "G20 Protesters Clash With London Cops" (April 2009): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/g20-protesters-clash-with-london-cops/ - Britannica, "Occupy Wall Street": https://www.britannica.com/topic/Occupy-Wall-Street - The Guardian, "Occupy America: protests against Wall Street and financial crisis sweep nation" (Oct 8, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/08/occupy-america-protests-financial-crisis - The New York Times, Paul Krugman, "Confronting the Malefactors" (Oct 7, 2011): https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/opinion/krugman-confronting-the-malefactors.html - Reuters, "World intrigued by Occupy Wall Street movement" (Oct 11, 2011): https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/world-intrigued-by-occupy-wall-street-movement-idUSL5E7LB1P8/