Vince Cable

.............The news comes as Chancellor Alistair Darling is under fire from the Liberal Democrats as to how much the government knew about the parlous state of Iceland's finances in the run-up to the financial crisis.

Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable wrote to Darling after it emerged he held talks with the Icelandic finance minister over the crisis in the summer. Cable asked him to explain why he didn't warn UK institutions their investments could be under threat, and still hasn't received a reply. Lord Oakeshott, the Lib Dem's Treasury spokesman in the Lords, said: 'Mr Darling can't be bothered to reply to questions about hundreds of millions of British cash trapped in bust Icelandic banks.'

05/11/2008 01:18:02

The Isle of Man has an unlikely ally as it struggles to resolve the situation surrounding Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander.

Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable, who last month called for the closure of offshore branches of nationalised United Kingdom banks, says he will help represent the Island.

Mr Cable was responding to a letter from Liberal Vannin party leader Peter Karran who asked him to for assistance, in the form of advice and influence.

Mr Cable says it’s an issue which has affected many of his constituents.

In his letter, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats offers closer links with the Liberal Vannin party.

He says he has contacted the Justice Select Committee, which shadows the UK Justice Secretary, who is negotiating with Iceland on the Isle of Man's behalf.

Mr Cable says "we will do our best to represent the concerns which you have about the conduct of the British government".

He calls Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander customers "a disparate lot" and says because of this, a number of different routes may be needed to recover their money.

Last night the Government was facing calls for an investigation into exactly what was known about the extent of Iceland’s problems and why no action was taken.

LibDem treasury spokesman Vince Cable said "there is a need for an investigation and at the very least a proper statement of exactly what the British Government was told, when they were told and what they did".
Channel 4 News reported that the Icelandic Central Bank approached the Bank of England in March for help to support its currency as confidence in its heavily indebted banking began to ebb away.
The following month, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King was said to have asked the International Monetary Fund for an assessment as well as commissioning separate studies of Iceland's banks and its economy.On September 2, Chancellor Alistair Darling was asked whether the British operations of the Landbanksi bank could be turned into a UK subsidiary, meaning that it would be covered by the UK deposit protection scheme, but no agreement was reached.