Northern Rock
Posted, September 18, 2007 @ 00:00
It is understandable why British savers are concerned about Northern Rock because they have been once bitten, twice shy after the Equitable Life disaster.
The Conservatives have exposed lax regulatory scrutiny of Equitable Life leading to the European Parliament's condemnation in August 2007 of Labour's failure to protect savers.
Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Conservative Leader in the European Parliament, says:
"It is not surprising that the public puts no trust in the assurances of HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority about Northern Rock. Neither accepted responsibility for dealing with the oldest, most reputable life assurance company in the world - Equitable Life.
"It is not Northern Rock who are really to blame here. They have been a significant force in the UK financial services industry for a long time and made a strong contribution to the UK economy in the north of England."
Sir Robert Atkins MEP, the Conservative Deputy Leader, who was instrumental in persuading the European Parliament to establish the Equitable Life Committee of Inquiry said: "Equitable Life proved that the UK financial system lacks the requisite level of security that one would expect from the British Government. Gordon Brown must urgently ensure that higher standards of investor protection and security are legally enforced. This is imperative if people are to be expected to save judiciously for their retirement.
"The Government has still not yet responded to the highly critical report of the Special Investigative Committee of the European Parliament about the Equitable Life debacle and accepted overall responsibility for the failures of the Financial Regulator, which is under the direct charge of the Government."