Britain"s financial watchdog has said it is disappointed financial harms which cause “irreparable damage to people’s lives” were not included in new legislation to protect people online. It follows revelations published in this newspaper that the City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is powerless to prevent Google from allowing scammers and unregulated investment schemes to pay to appear at the top of search results. It called for a change in the law and the issue to be included in the scope of new “online harms” legislation, but has been snubbed in initial Government consultations on the proposed laws, published yesterday, which will hand new powers to regulator Ofcom to police internet and social media websites. The aim of the legislation is to protect vulnerable internet users such as children and other vulnerable groups from harmful content online, including from sexual predators and terrorist propaganda, but so far makes no mention of financial scams online. A spokesman for the FCA said: “The issues covered by the online harms bill are of fundamental importance and we support the aims of the bill. “However, financial harm causes distress and often irreparable damage to people’s lives so we are disappointed that it has not been included in the bill.” A final consultation is expected to be published in the spring, and the Government is still working with organisations to develop policy to protect vulnerable online users, such as the elderly. This group is particularly at risk of investment fraud. The FCA recently revealed it is spending as much as £600,000 on its own Google ads warning against scam sites also promoted by the $1trillion internet giant. Many are tricked into handing their cash to con artists or investing in high-risk and unregulated investments, as unscrupulous firms can abuse the system so their websites pop up even in response to searches for “safe” or “protected” investments. Google is retaining tens of millions in profits from the scandal and has so far ignored calls for the money to be returned to victims or dedicated to solving the problem. The FCA said it would continue to work with the Government in order to tackle the issue. Google says it is working with the regulator on a long-term solution. A Government spokesman said it has given sufficient powers to the FCA.