Northern Rock cash boost attacked

Opposition parties have attacked the Government's decision to further bail out Northern Rock with £3bn cash. Both the main opposition parties said the decision put the taxpayer at unacceptable risk. Unlike the loans the Government was forced to make to the stricken mortgage bank when it collapsed, the latest cash injection will be converted into equity, making it harder to recoup.

The Conservative Treasury spokesman Philip Hammond said the taxpayer "was being forced to hand over yet more money in order to keep this bank afloat", while his Lib Dem counterpart, Vince Cable, said: "Alistair Darling assured Parliament that taxpayer loans to Northern Rock would be fully secured on mortgage assets. This is clearly not true.