A senior executive at banking giant HSBC has apologised for comments suggesting that Britain would be “weak” for siding with the US and cutting back business dealings with China. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles made the comments during a private meeting but issued an apology after they appeared in a report in Bloomberg News. The head of public affairs at the bank reportedly told the attendees that Britain often complied with the US’s demands, and should stand by its own interests rather than blindly following calls from Washington, according to the newswire which cited people familiar with the matter. My personal comments...