A former top Barclays executive admitted ordering staff to submit false interest rates during the credit crisis in 2008 because he believed his action had been sanctioned by the Bank of England.

Jerry del Missier told the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee on Monday that he drew that conclusion from a conversation with the bank's chief executive, Bob Diamond in October 2008.

He insisted that he believed he had done nothing wrong, and said he would not have given the order if he believed it had not been sanctioned by the Bank of England.

Del Missier resigned as Barclays' chief operating officer on July 3, hours after Diamond resigned -- a month after he had been promoted from head of Barclays Capital to chief operating officer of the group.

Barclays has been fined $453 million by U.S. and British agencies for submitting false reports of its interbank borrowing rates, data which goes into the calculation of a key market index, the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR).