November 21, 2007 (LPAC)--The leader of the Liberal Democrats in the British Parliament called on Nov. 20 for the British government to stop endless bailouts of the stricken Northern Rock Bank's mortgage investments, and either take temporary control of the bank to stabilize it, or close it down.

Liberal Democratic leader Vince Cable recommends the option of government protection of the bank under temporary government control, but, he says, that even closing it down would be better than continuing the attempted bailout of its mortgage-backed assets, which has already reached at least $48 billion and perhaps more, and has had no effect. This $48 billion is entirely separate from the $36 billion which has been necessary to insure Northern Rock's deposits after a mass run on the bank developed.

Cable points out that the various "offers" of interest to buy the large, failing bank, from other banks and private equity funds, have been "the stuff of fantasy," but the Gordon Brown government has kept pouring in more and more short-term loans to Northern Rock just to try to attract a private buyer. Cerberus Capital Partners is the latest "buyer" to walk away.