Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg has said his party would stop banks being able to charge large penalties when people go overdrawn.

Outlining the Lib Dems "manifesto for consumers", he said such charges were "seriously out of order".

Speaking during a visit to Cardiff, he said if elected, his party would stop "vested interests" in the business world from "ripping people off".

Labour and the Conservatives are also pledging to boost consumer rights.

'Trusted'

Mr Clegg said banks should not be able to "profiteer" from people making small mistakes with their overdrafts, or by bouncing a cheque. He is also calling for a cap on credit card interest rates.

His pledges follow after banks won a legal victory last year which stopped an Office of Fair Trading investigation into overdraft charges.

Mr Clegg said the Lib Dems would also move to ensure low-cost airlines are more open about the total cost of their flights.

In an earlier interview with GMTV, he said Lib Dem warnings about greedy bankers before the financial crisis showed they could be "trusted" by voters over their polices for the banking sector.

Mr Clegg also paid tribute to his Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, as a "close friend and colleague" and - likening the Lib Dem front bench to cricket team - "the best batsman around".

'Blocking reform'

But asked if Mr Cable would be allowed to be chancellor if deals were done with other parties should there be a hung parliament, Mr Clegg said: "I don't think Vince is going to be in the Carlos Tevez school of transfers from one team to the other, we work as a team."

Tevez joined Manchester City from local rivals Manchester United last year.

Mr Clegg has also rejected a call by Labour Transport Minister Lord Adonis that Lib Dem supporters should switch their vote to Labour in marginal seats to keep the Tories out.

"It's a desperate attempt to muddy the waters," he said. "People should not be told that they only have two options."

Edward Davey, the Lib Dems' chief of staff, earlier said: "Labour has become as big a block to political reform as the Conservatives.

"Whether it's on fair votes or stopping dirty money in politics, Labour has just not delivered, often working hand-in-hand with the Conservatives to stop the change Liberal Democrats are fighting for.

'Bureaucrats'

Mr Clegg has also pledged to "get rid" of NHS "pen pushers", particularly in Strategic Health Authorities, in order to fund front line services.

He said 5,000 more "bureaucrats" were employed in the NHS last year, while the number of nurses had only increased by 2%.

On Thursday, the Lib Dems accused the Conservatives of planning a "VAT bombshell" to pay for tax pledges - the Tories say they have no plans to raise VAT.

The Lib Dems say they would raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 to reduce the burden on low and average-income earners.

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