Image copyright PA Image caption Louise Haigh is shadow civil service minister

Britain's financial markets are "wilder" than they were before the 2008 banking crisis, a shadow minister has warned.

Louise Haigh, a former corporate governance officer at an investment bank, said "excessive risk taking" and short termism are back in the City.

The markets are "wilder, less transparent and more importantly faster than they were before," she said.

And without urgent reform another crash is likely, she added.

Speaking at a Unite fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference, she said Britain's financial regulators cannot keep up with the rapid pace of change in the City and had been "captured" by the institutions they were meant to be policing.

But the shadow civil service and digital minister cautioned against piling more regulation on the markets.

Instead, Labour should campaign for a simpler regulatory framework and tougher punishments for individuals who "wilfully break the rules".

Without urgent reform, "we are closer to the next crash than the last one", she warned.