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Northern Rock

Let me put it this way: we had a choice of accepting one of the two bids on the table from the Virgin consortium and from the board. However, when we examined those two bids and judged them against the option of public ownership for a temporary period, they did not stack up in value for money terms. It would have been wrong of me to make a proposal that involved significant subsidy and that, as the figures clearly showed, was not the best option. We must at all times look after three things: the financial stability of the system, security for depositors and savers, and value for taxpayers. That is why I reached the decision at the weekend that I have announced today. I hope that Ron Sandler and the new management team can examine the bank, ascertain what needs to be done, especially given the market conditions that it now faces, and see what we can do to refocus and restructure the business. I cannot give my hon. Friend the answer today because, as I said, the management needs time to do that. However, the alternative of accepting a bid that was not good value would have been wrong, and the suggestion from the Conservative party simply to bankrupt the bank would have been a profound mistake.